Had the meeting with my CFP and the insurance guy today. Interesting plan they offer. You pay fixed premiums for a set number of years.
They ran a 15-year scenario, but the length of time (and amounts) can be adjusted if desired. The benefits, though, continue until your death. So if I pay for 15 years, but then don't need any long term healthcare benefits for another 45-50 years, the plan will be there for me. My premiums are capped/locked. They pay a maximum amount monthly (indexed to rise with time). So for example if I need this plan within the first year of signing up, at first it will pay a max of $3K per month; but if I wait for 45 years before tapping into it, it will pay $11K per month at that time. The plan will pay out for 6 years (each subsequent year also indexed).
There are 3 ways to pay out. Obviously, the long term care part. But there's also a death benefit, so if I die without ever using the policy, my heirs will at least get the money I put into it back. And there's also a cash-out option, where I can get back about $0.80 on the dollar, if I opt to leave the plan at any time.
The only shortcoming I can see in this plan is that actual total cost of care can be greater than the benefits. Though I'm sure the plan can be upscaled to fit whatever I desire (because the premiums will similarly increase). $3K per month is not a lot, when assisted living/SNF/nursing home (or if I just want round-the-clock home nursing
) can cost two or three times that amount.