I bought long term care insurance shortly before my sixtieth birthday. That means I have been paying for that coverage for over sixteen years. I have no idea how much money that adds up to and I don't care. I think buying the coverage was the best investment I have ever made and I hope every penny of it goes to waste. I don't want to use one day of that coverage and neither does anyone else, but having it there is one of the most comforting things imaginable. 

If I had to choose between stopping my life insurance or my long term care insurance I would stop the life insurance without blinking an eye. At our age, the need to have money when one of us dies matters, but having coverage to care for us in case we need long term care in the home or in a care facility is much more important.

It is almost impossible for the average family with average wages to put enough money into 401K plans or other retirement programs to face the growing cost of long term care. Right now it cost in excess of $30,000 per year for just the regular care. If special care is needed or if dementia is the problem then the cost skyrockets from there. The average or even the slightly above average salary with the normal investment schedule just won't build up enough of a nest egg to meet that kind of cost.

With that said, I am amazed at how many people I meet who have never given any thought to this kind of coverage. Before I semi-retired from the road, I spoke at aging conferences all over the United States and Canada. These were usually sponsored by nursing homes and attracted families who were either facing the decision or realized they would be doing so in the near future. I began asking for a show of hands of those who had long term care insurance. No matter the size of the audience, there were never more than two hands raised. Most of the time there were none. I noticed that even most of the folks who worked in nursing homes did not have coverage. I began to wonder why I was in such a minority. Why is this coverage so rare?

I realize this kind of coverage is fairly new and has not been widely or effectively advertised or sold. I had to push my insurance agent into handling this coverage and largely educate him on the value. A lot of folks still have never heard of this kind of care.

I think the number one reason is not lack of knowledge. The number one reason is our fear of aging and our reluctance to talk about it for ourselves. That and an even larger fear of brining the subject up to our parents keeps our heads in the sand until it is too late to purchase this coverage. We need to purchase this insurance a long time before we care to even think about growing old. I did so before I was sixty and that is a very good time, but who wants to think about old age at sixty?

Some of the reluctance comes from our not wanting to deal with insurance or insurance sales persons. I hear that from a lot of folks when I start telling them of this need. They seem to dread the encounters so they put it off as long as possible.

And, too, this kind of coverage is not easy to understand. How much coverage to buy? How many years should I try to cover, or should I buy one with no limits of years? How can I be sure there is no hidden language that will trip me up when the time of need arrives? It really just gives us all a giant headache. I hope this blog can be of some help.

We are currently searching through all of the long term care companies looking for the ones we think are best. When we settle on the best ones, we hope to entice someone in that company to join us in our efforts and write a continuing series of blogs covering this insurance as simply and yet as completely as possible. 

You could be a great help in our quest by responding to this blog and telling us about your experiences, your questions, and your needs in this area. Together maybe we can make this coverage understandable and available. Then you can join me in spending money you hope to waste.