If you are 40 or over, then the time to start shopping for a long-term care (LTC) insurance policy is now. There is no age that marks the starting point for the LTC shopping experience, but the older you get the more expensive your rates will be, which means it's best to shop as early as possible.
Why Age Matters
The younger you are when you buy your LTC policy, the longer the insurance company has to collect premiums from you before you can be expected to start utilizing the benefits. In addition the younger you are the fewer health problems you will have had and since health is a factor in determining your premiums, this could make a substantial difference.
Increases in Costs
In a brief from 2010, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners printed an example of the premium expense growth for LTC shoppers at various ages. They noted that a 40-year-old shopping for coverage might receive a premium quote $300 whereas in 10 years that same person would receive a quote of $409 per year.
As if that hundred dollar increase isn't bad enough, the same individual at 65 would receive a premium quote of $1,002 per year—an increase of over 200% more than the rate quoted at age 50. This means it’s much more cost-effective to buy an inexpensive policy early and pay it for a longer number of years. To illustrate that point, let’s say the 40-year-old mentioned above bought the policy and paid for it for 40 years. They would have paid a total of $12,000 and had use of the benefits in the policy—if necessary—during that time. A 65-year-old would pay over $15,000 just to have that policy to age 80, and would have had access to benefits for just 15 years.
If you're 40 or over and you're starting to finalize your retirement planning, you shouldn't hesitate in obtaining long-term care insurance. The only thing you stand to gain by putting the purchasing decision off is a higher premium. Give us a call today at 713-227-7283 for a Houston long term care insurance quote and give you an idea of what your premiums will look like if you delay this important decision.