The Trend to Limited Duration Long Term Care Benefit Periods

Individuals who purchased long-term care insurance protection in 2010 continued to favor limited duration policies according to research by the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance the national trade organization. According to data gathered on 153,000 new policies, over half (57.1%) of purchasers selected policies with a benefit period of 4 years or less.

This is a 5% increase from the 2008 study in which 52% of buyers purchased benefit periods of 4 years or less.

With the economic uncertainty of the past 3 years, this trend is understandable as consumers of long term care insurance are seeking ways to reduce the cost of long term care insurance while still obtaining valuable benefits.

For couples, the growing trend is to buy more affordable shared limited duration benefit period policies that protect couples if one insured needs care for longer than provided by their individual policy. Over 75% of long term care insurance is purchased by couples and the shared care approach is extremely popular and allows the LTC insurance to be affordable.

This has been our experience as well, at LTC Partner. The majority of our applications by couples opt for shared care policies .
It is a smart way to buy enough long term care insurance for an affordable premium.

The AALTCI also indicated that overall sales of long term care insurance increased in 2010, reversing a trend; and the average age of long term care insurance buyers increased in 2010 from the prior year. This data would indicate that younger consumers may still be budget conscious while older consumers are starting to feel more comfortable with the economic recovery.

The complete findings will be published in the AALTCI Long Term Care Insurance Sourcebook published later this year.

Comparing your long term care insurance choices and options may seem daunting for you. But, we are specialists and will help you through the maze that is long term care insurance. Simply complete our long term care insurance quote request form to get started or call us direct at 1-800-891-5824 and find out what the best options are for you.