Long-term Care Insurance: Coverage you should consider

While working on an upcoming insurance column for Entrepreneur magazine, I did some research on long-term care insurance (LTCI). If you are 50 or older, you need to consider this coverage.

LTCI pays for care that health insurance doesn’t cover—things like non-medical assistance that allows seniors to live at home rather than move into an assisted-care facility. There’s more to it, of course, but a blog isn’t the place to go into a full discourse on what LTCI does. So let’s just hit two important points:

Something many people don’t realize is that LTCI premiums may be tax deductible if you are self-employed or a business owner. Check with your tax advisor to be sure the plan you select is qualified.

If you have employees and want to make this insurance available to them as a benefit (either voluntary, which means the employees pay the premiums, or as a company-paid benefit), I recommend that you look for a policy that allows your employees to also cover their families. Baby boomers in their 40s and 50s are starting to think about what sort of care their parents are going to need in the coming years. With adequate insurance, they’ll be able to maintain their focus on their jobs and not be distracted by dealing with caregiver issues.

For more information about long-term care insurance, contact the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

Jacquelyn Lynn