They don't want to burden their children. It can help preserve quality of life. Most people want to avoid nursing homes. Long-term care insurance can help them do that. Most products offer alternative services to nursing home care, such as adult day care services, home health care services and assisted living.
Some policies even pay for home care by a family member.
Those were common considerations for more than 2,000 North Dakotans who bought long-term care policies from Acceleration Life Insurance Company a few years ago. Unfortunately, they didn't count on the large and rapid increases in the premiums they were paying for the policy. These increases were so large and rapid that these policyholders were forced to drop their policies with nothing to show for them. Harold Hanson is typical. Now 96, the former rancher lives alone and still cooks for himself.