Ensuring care: age, needs among factors to consider when selecting long-term care insurance.

• Author: Eisenberg, Irving M.
• Position: LONG-TERM CARE

Statistics indicate that our population is aging at a staggering pace. In 2002, 30 percent of all non-institutionalized people age 65 or older lived alone, representing 41 percent of older women and 18 percent of older men, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

The proportion increases with age, as more than 49 percent of all women age 75 and over lived alone in 2000.

Further, individuals age 85 or older grew 38 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

And California has two cities--Los Angeles and San Diego--among the top 10 U.S. cities with the largest populations of people 65 years old or older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The dramatic increase in older Americans, as well as the increased number of individuals living alone without someone else to provide care for them, increases the urgency surrounding decisions about long-term care services and long-term care insurance policies to pay for those

services.

WHEN TO BUY?

Clients often want to know when is the best time to buy long-term care insurance. While there is no easy answer, the phrase "timing is everything" comes into play.

Mathematically, clients should buy long-term care insurance the day before they get sick or hurt and either require immediate long-term care benefits or at least become ineligible to buy a policy due to health considerations.

Of course, no one can predict such a day, which is where timing--specifically your age--comes into play.

The average age of individual policy purchasers has decreased from 72 in 1990, to 62 in 2001. That's good news considering that insurance costs increase with age and the older you are, the greater risk you run of not qualifying for insurance.

Consider the following:

* At age 70, you are 25 percent more likely to be downgraded for health and have to pay higher premiums than at 60.

* At age 70, you are twice as likely to be declined for long-term care insurance than at age 60, according to the California Partnership for Long-Term Care.

* Insurance costs increase exponentially with age, so they are much higher the longer you wait.

All this points to the fact that you run the risk of not qualifying for long-term care insurance the longer you wait.

A rule of thumb is to consider purchasing a policy as you approach 50 years old--or when you no longer have primary responsibility for the financial support of your kids and can begin preparing for your own retirement if that date is...