Here's the issue with any type of variable universal life policy - the agent's premium and company fees can be set up different ways. Surprise, surprise - the default on running a customer quote is set to the agent/company advantage, NOT the consumer. You can get them to change this - BUT you have to ASK. The agent should be willing to do this, but very few of them will volunteer (not surprisingly). This is a hybrid policy currently very "hot" in insurance circles because so many people think they might be "wasting" their premium dollars. Needless to say, you will pay more for such a hybrid policy, than you would if you just bought level term life insurance and a standard LTC policy. Unless you seriously need life insurance for estate reasons - I have it, but for a very specific reason - I can't see why anyone would buy these types of policies. You pay for auto insurance and homeowners insurance for years, with most people never making any serious claims. Is that money wasted? No - it is intended to mitigate risk in an emergency. LTC insurance is no different. If your life expectancy factors are good, you want to age "in place", and you can't afford to self-insure, then buying an LTC policy can help mitigate the risk of running out of money and being forced into only Medicaid facilities, rather than having a variety of choices open to you. LTC insurance is not for everyone, and there are many policy details needing prudent and careful review. It may indeed be true that a hybrid policy would work well for you...but I would carefully compare it with the standard policy and a level term life quote before making any decision. Good luck to you and others going forward. This is not an easy or simple decision to make. You will need the help of an ethical insurance salesman, and that's something you will need to find on your own. They do exist, so start searching and asking lots of questions.

gibby -- There was a reduced-benefit clause in the LTC policies we took, too. I was wrong when I wrote that we took them 15 years ago. It was 20! Also, we had to pay in for TEN years, not TWO, to (possibly) get something back. We'd paid in $11,000 in premiums at the end of ten years. This was a group LTC policy from Hancock, offered to us by my DH's then-employer. After ten years we became eligible for reduced-amount benefits. Each policy will pay $45/day for *skilled nursing care*, to a lifetime max of $82,000. The verbiage on any other type of care is obscure with lots of hoops and mazes. Looking at it now, I think we will have aided tbe taxpayer -- seems to me these benefits would reduce the cost of our care to Medicare. If I'd had any doubts about problems collecting on the policies, they were sustained when it took me six months to get a letter from Hancock stating that each of us had actually qualified for this reduced-benefit coverage. We eventually received single-page letters, undated and without signatures, with a lot of 'may qualify' and 'could be' phrasing. Their legal department could send us packing without breaking a sweat. Our situation is different than yours as to probable need for the policy. I'm glad you'll take that opt-out clause. You might want to see a letter stating exactly what YOUR reduced benefits will be, specific to YOUR policy and YOUR premiums, before you sign up.

Also, while I'm no expert, you need to consider how many companies are dropping LTCI--so far, they say they'll honor their existing policies, but who knows what the future will bring? With my aunt in assisted living, it was explained to me, that she needed enough to pay her way for 2 years, then could go on medicaid. She made it 2 years, would have had enough finances to maybe go another 4-5 months, if she hadn't died. I know there are a lot of ins and outs, on this one, but if you DON'T have a large estate, then buying long term care insurance, you're really buying insurance to take the burden off the state, aren't you? And if you have a bit of money, well, why should someone else (the insurance company, their other clients) be paying your way so your heirs can squander their inheritance on frills? Isn't self-sufficiency in our old age what we're all saving for?

It is true that most of the LTC policies purchased in the early 1990's were "nursing home only policies." However, since the federal government created standards for LTC insurance, over 95% of the long-term care policies purchased pay benefits for care received at home, as well as assisted living facilities and nursing homes. Depending upon the state in which you live, there are policies that have premiums that are guaranteed to never go up. Many of these policies can also refund your premium if you never need to make a claim. Generally, you should NOT purchase a LTC insurance policy that is linked to "universal life insurance". Those policies can lapse as you age, leaving you with no coverage at all.