How to Find the Best Long Term Care Insurance Providers

Contrary to some mistaken beliefs, long term care insurance is not just health insurance. If you have health insurance, it will not cover the costs associated with long term care in a nursing home, should you need it. Given how high those costs can be, and given the fact that a bigger and bigger portion of the population is living longer — over 80 is one of the fastest growing population categories — long term care insurance is a necessity for more and more people.

Strong Companies

• If you're looking for good providers for long term care insurance policies, you should seek out companies with a strong and steady history. MetLife, GenWorth and John Hancock are all companies that have weathered burst bubbles and financial storms without increasing premiums or denying care to policy holders. The examples given here tend to have more expensive policies than the competition, but the trade-off is that they're stable.

Determine Your Costs

• The best long term insurance policies can vary based on the costs that you have to face in your area. You need to look at the average costs for a daily stay in nursing homes in your area. Major cities and homes that provide specialized care will be more expensive, sometimes over $400 per day. At-home care can be even more expensive. You need to make sure that your policy will cover your expenses, while also making sure that you're not paying too much for a policy that will pay more than you'll need.

State Insurance Departments

• Every state has its own department of insurance, including long term care policies. For information about policies and providers, simply go to the website www.naic.org and select your state. It will take you right to the homepage, and you can review the information about providers in your state. This site will also provide email addresses to which you can direct queries about policies. You can also get help with understanding any policies or programs unique to your state.

Inflation Protection

• The wise invest in a long term care insurance policy when they're young, but they usually won't need the benefits until they reach their 80s. The value of a dollar can change a lot in the intervening decades, and inflation protection will make sure that your policy amounts vary to match inflation. This will cost more in premiums, but when the time comes to cash in the policy, it is always better adjusted to the needs of the client.