What to look for
When buying a long-term care policy, you can expect to see many options from which to choose, the main ones being:
- Type of coverage — Choose from among nursing care, assisted living, home care or a mix of these.
- Benefit + benefit period — The benefit is the daily or monthly amount that the insurance company will pay out to cover expenses. The benefit period is the period over which you will receive those payments; most common periods vary from 2 to 6 years or for the remainder of life.
- Waiting period — This is the number of days you must wait for coverage to commence after you have filed a claim. You must pay all expenses during this period; typically the longer the period, the lower your premium.
- Non-forfeiture benefit — Option that allows you to receive payments even if you stop paying premiums.
