About 5% of those over age 65 will be making their last home in a nursing home or a place where there are people to help them it needed.

What should you look for if you are thinking that you want to consider long term care insurance? What is a good age to start looking for this type of insurance? Let us look into all of this.

Finding a good insurance agent is a good place to start and finding one that has the knowledge in this area of insurance must be selected carefully because most of us do not have good, solid knowledge with this insurance. You will be relying on your agent for advice on which policy and coverage level to buy. You want an agent who can work with the home offices of the different companies to help present your medical history in the best possible light. That can be very important because many companies exclude Alzheimer's, heart disease or other pre-existing illnesses. After you've found a good agent, it is time to compare policies. Policy benefits do not actually pay for medical or nursing home bills. The policy pays a predetermined amount if you meet certain conditions or have certain expenses like being in a nursing home or hospital. Your benefit can be less than or more than the actual cost of the service covered. The amount of the check you'll receive is not determined by the bills you will be receiving.

Some questions you want to ask are: Does the policy cover care provided in a hospital, nursing home or your own home ---- all three or one or the other. What is the wait before the policy begins to pay? Most companies have an ‘elimination period’. Does it exclude certain diseases that are part of your family or personal history? Is skilled or intermediate care covered and for how long? Is there a maximum benefit or are you covered for as long as you live?

Will the benefits be adjusted for inflation? Will your premiums be increased due to inflation ---- how often and how much or not that all?

Be sure to read the policy and ask any questions you do not understand. Do not expect to understand everything ---- that is what your agent is for and if he/she cannot give you an answer, they will find the answer for you. There are no refunds if you don't use the policy.

Take a look at premiums once you have compared what the policies will cover. They will vary widely from $500 to $2,500. On the low end is a person who is young --- age 40 --- and looking for a minimal level of benefits. The rates will go up as you get older, sicker or want more coverage.

Start checking the actual costs of nursing homes in your area. You are trying to find out what it would cost for a level of care that is acceptable to you. Doing that will give you an idea of how high your bills could be. Do a short visit to decide if this is where you want to spend to rest of your days ----- this is very important because you want to be comfortable and be able to have your family and friends to be there whenever you want.

Begin to think about how much coverage you want or can afford. You don't need to insure for the entire amount if you are getting an annual income. An example would be if you expect the annual cost of care to be $40,000 and you have annual income of $25,000 you might want to buy a plan that would pay the difference of $15,000 a year. That would be about $45 per day. To significantly increase costs it doesn't take much inflation. A 5% inflation rate will double the cost of an item in 14 years. If you're 65 today it's possible that you could live 28 more years. In that time a $100 a day room would increase to $400 per day!

Careful selection of deductibles and elimination periods are some ways to reduce the costs of the insurance. You can choose how long you want to be in a hospital or nursing home before the benefits begin. If your goal is to protect your assets, a one year elimination period could make sense. That will reduce your premium.

It is time to rank the companies once you have collected quotes from the different sources. If you decide to apply for insurance you'll want to start with the top of your list. If you are turned down by your first choice, you can apply to the next until you find coverage.

Is term life insurance for everyone? Of course not. You just need to sit down and figure out what and how you want or will need to be taken care of as you get older ---- your special concerns ---- your family arena and if you are going to have family that will be there for you. Please be realistic about your care. Are you going to only need someone a If you are going to only need someone a couple hours a week or 24/7

couple hours a week or 24/7? Talk to your family. This is not always going to be easy or comfortable but, it can be a really traumatic experience for everyone when the time comes and nothing has been arranged.

It is your life and just because you are getting older or need long term care does not mean that you should not be in control of what happens BUT, don’t be stubborn and not let people help you if need be! Work together and have the Best Twilight Years you are entitled to!