Among individuals younger than the age of 50, it is quite common to believe that long-term care insurance is something that they won’t really need until later on in their lives.
According to CFP Rich Arzaga, CEO and founder of San Ramon, California-based Cornerstone Wealth Management, the majority of consumers won’t start to inquire about long-term care insurance until about the age of 45. In fact, “it won’t be on their radar”.
He said that once they reach the age of 55 or 60, they will begin to talk about long-term care insurance, as this is usually when their parents will have started to need this kind of coverage. He explained that “They don’t have the fear of reality until they’re over 55.”
Data from the industry supports this theory. Statistics from an American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance report in 2010 said that the demographic of individuals between the ages of 45 and 54 makes up only one fifth of all long-term care policies. However, over half of all policyholders are in the 55 to 64 year old demographic.
According to Genworth Financial spokesperson, Wendy Boglioli, this type of protection is in some ways comparable to term life insurance in that the sooner you “lock into” a long-term policy, the lower the overall cost over the years.
She said that once you have turned 80 or 90 years old, you already know that you’ll need assistance. It’s better to buy now for savings later on.
Cornerstone Wealth Management cost projections indicate that there is worthwhile value in beginning with a long-term care factor within a portfolio at an earlier age.
