If You Never Thought You’d Need Long-Term Care, Think Again

It’s easy to assume we’re never going to have a serious health concern, at least not until we’re in our 70’s, 80’s, or 90’s, if we make it that long. The idea of requiring long-term care usually doesn’t begin infiltrating our thoughts until we move well into our 60’s and 70’s. We may have an elderly parent or grandparent who requires long-term care, and the thought may cross our mind, but being in such good physical condition, it’s just a passing notion.

Long-Term Care Insurance Carmel Valley CA - If You Never Thought You’d Need Long-Term Care, Think Again

Long-Term Care Insurance Carmel Valley CA – If You Never Thought You’d Need Long-Term Care, Think Again

Long-term care is often necessary for far more people than one might realize. In fact, the chances you may require long-term care at some time in your life is greater than you likely ever realized.

The cost of long-term care continues to increase, which means you would do well to consider long-term care insurance.

What is long-term care insurance?

Just as with most other insurance policies, it is designed to help people protect their financial savings, retirement funds, and other investments if they or another dependent (usually a spouse) requires some type of long-term care in the future. Every policy is different, but some of the better ones will provide the finances necessary to pay for long-term care (at least a significant portion of it, if not the full amount, depending on the policy) for up to three years.

Perhaps that doesn’t seem necessary.

After all, you’ve been working hard your whole life, building up your 401(k), investing in stocks, bonds, and other sound investments. You plan to retire with over $1 million in assets. Is it really going to be necessary to rely on long-term care insurance to pay for this?

Currently, the average cost of a private room in a nursing home in the United States is over $100,000 per year. With inflation, supply and demand economics, and other factors, the cost of long-term care is continuing to increase at an alarming rate. That means by the time you reach retirement it might cost $150,000 a year.

Now, you may be able to pay for that without too much of a problem from your retirement investments, but for most people that amount of money can be devastating. Just because you may not think long-term care will be necessary at some point in the future doesn’t mean it won’t be.

There’s a reason people carry life insurance, automobile insurance, homeowner’s insurance, renter’s insurance, and so on. Some do so because it’s required of them. Others do it because they understand there is risk if they don’t.

You might do fine without long-term care insurance, but as you get older the risk of a medical emergency, an accident, or something else happening that requires you or your loved one to need long-term care, having this type of insurance can protect your financial health.

If you or a loved-one are considering Long-Term Care Insurance in Carmel Valley CA, please contact Steve Elliott at Capstone Insurance for an honest discussion about your future and your options. Call today (858) 350-3161.

Steve Elliott