When Should You Get Long Term Care Insurance? 
The best time to buy long-term care insurance is anytime you are medically qualified to do so . The biggest problem people have is that they wait too long to apply , they get a condition or chronic health problem that is uninsurable by any carrier , and they are stuck with an LTC-friendly annuity as their only possible solution to how they might pay for long-term care costs . -LRB- This would be an annuity that does not require underwriting for the LTC benefit of the annuity contract , but allows for liberal access to the account value for payment of LTC costs . -RRB- Buying at a very young age does n't not have much of a financial advantage since premiums do n't really start to climb until about ages 50-60 . After age 65 , one has in reality `` missed the train '' and , assuming medical qualification , will pay a hefty price for a traditionally designed long-term care contract . However , there is another train behind the first one , and that involves designing the contract as a static pool of money with maximum access to it . It costs about half of thetraditionally designed LTCi contract , but it lacks any accommodation for the escalation of care costs over time . Still , it is better than no coverage at all . From an economic perspective , in buying young , one would have to weigh the cost of paying premium over a longer period of time . From an insurability perspective , however , one should remember that Superman -LRB- Christopher Reeve -RRB- did not know he would become a quadriplegic at age 41 . Also , many carriers have a `` preferred '' rate class , which may be a lot easier to get at an early application age . Recent claims history research has shown that a greater percentage of claimants are under age 65 and the number is growing . With some possible tax breaks on the payment of LTCi premiums - and possibly greater tax breaks in the future as Congress weighs the burden the uninsured elderly on Medicaid - one should seriously start planning for long-term care individually , as a couple , and for parents as early as possible . Death will happen . How long it takes to die may be problematic and costly . 