Buy before your next birthday.  If you wait until your next birthday to apply for coverage, you’ll be paying more for exactly the same protection.  That’s because rates are based on your age.  Your potential savings could be 5 to 15 percent.

Ask if you qualify for preferred rates.  There will be significant savings if you can qualify for preferred rates.  This means you must be in very good health.  Standards vary from one company to the next, so be prepared to tell your long-term care insurance specialist about your health and any medications you are taking.  Your potential savings could be 10 percent or more.

Consider your deductible amount.  It’s common today to have a deductible amount for your car and home insurance, and even co-payments for your health coverage.  With long-term care insurance, the deductibles are called a waiting period or an elimination period.  Your potential yearly savings could be 10 to 20 percent if you select a 90-day elimination period rather than a 30-day elimination period.  A 180-day elimination period could mean savings of an additional 10 percent.
Maximize your tax deductions.  Federal and a growing number of state tax codes allow individuals and businesses to deduct tax qualified long-term care insurance premiums.  Talk to a long-term care insurance specialist or your accountant to find out how much you can deduct.  Your potential yearly savings could be from 3 to 28 percent.

Take advantage of couples discounts.  Many insurance companies offer spousal discounts when both spouses apply for coverage.  A growing number of insurers offer similar discounts to qualifying partners, in some cases even siblings who live together.  Tax-deductible health savings accounts can be used to pay for long term care insurance.  This is a new opportunity to save.

Sharing can save you money.  Most long-term care today is received at home where family members or community volunteers share in the care-giving.  As a result, you may want to consider coverage with a lower benefit level to pay for needed professional care services.  You may be able to pay some of the cost of needed care from your savings, retirement income or Social Security.  Ask your insurance specialist for local costs of home health care.  They may differ from national averages.  Should you one day need care in a skilled facility, sharing a semi-private room can be 15 to 25 percent less expensive than a private room.

When is something better than nothing?  Industry experts report that most people will need long-term care for less than five years.  If insurance protection offering a lifetime benefit period is too expensive, consider a shorter period.  In the final analysis, a shorter benefit period is far better that no protection at all.  Your potential yearly savings, a 3-year plan vs. a lifetime plan, could save you from 30 to 40 percent.  A 5-year plan vs. a lifetime plan could save you from 20 to 30 percent in premium dollars.

We’ve all heard the old saying “He who has the gold makes the rules”.  A long-term care insurance policy is considered private pay when we need long-term health care.  The real benefit is that you have money to pay for care in your home, in an assisted living facility, in an adult foster care home, for respite care in your own hoe or a facility, or even for nursing home care.  When you have money to pay for care, you have control and choice.  Without it, you will be forced to allow others to choose the kind and quality of care you receive.

You may be surprised how affordable long-term care insurance really is when you compare it to the cost of care.