In UK, long term care insurance is becoming less popular

The market for long-term care insurance is declining, theAssociation of British Insurers (ABI) has said, possibly as policiesare becoming more expensive due to people living longer.

Long-termcare insurance can cover people to help meet the cost of either beingcared for in their own home or in a residential care home and itusually comes into effect when a person fails to accomplish two orthree everyday activities, such as feeding or dressing themselves.

JonathanFrench, a spokesperson for the ABI, said that consumers might expectthe long-term care insurance market to be growing in tandem with theageing population in Britain; but with policies becoming more expensiveas providers add on the cost of people needing longer periods of care,the market is in fact in decline.”As with any age-related insurancepolicy, the older you are the more expensive it will be,” Mr Frenchsaid. “If people did want to look at buying this kind of product, aswith a pension, it’s best to start as early as possible. If you waituntil you have retired to look into this policy, the likelihood is thatyour premiums are going to be very high.”He added: “The insuranceindustry is looking at this issue very closely. It’s our view that ifthings go on as they are, both in terms of the public sector and theprivate sector involved in long-term care, it will become anunsustainable problem.”Long-term care already costs the state andindividuals huge amounts of money. Quite often people have to selltheir properties in order to pay for long-term care, and doubtlessthese were properties which in many cases doubtless the owners wantedto bequeath to their relatives. We are working with the government andother organisations in this field to work out how we can move towardssolving this problem.”

More:   Craegmoor Healthcare, http://www.craegmoor.co.uk/news/industry/18323893/long-term_care_insurance_less_popular.aspx