You may feel that this is not something that you need, and maybe because of your age, you see it as frivolous. The sad part is that many people feel that way, and they don't look to the future or think anything bad is going to happen to them. Sadly, these are the ones who find themselves needing long-term care that goes beyond what their insurance company is willing to pay. For them, long-term care insurance would have made things much easier.

The problem with thinking we are "too young" to be thinking about long term care insurance is that it doesn't always happen to the old - it can happen to anyone. In 2003, the former lead singer of a musical band who was close to 60 at that time and in quite good health took a fall across a fence at his home, breaking several vertebrae in his neck. He is still in the rehabilitation hospital, and it is uncertain when he will be able to return to his home. When that happens, full-time nursing care will still be needed as he is paralyzed from the diaphragm down. A man in good health who just happened to have a freak accident! It can happen to anyone at any age, and you have to be prepared for that. Having long term care insurance is certainly much better than having to worry about how to pay the nursing home or how to pay the nurses that are going to have to come to a patient's home every day for the rest of his or her life.

Many insurance companies have begun offering long-term care insurance, so more than likely the company you have used for your car, life insurance, and home owner's insurance offers it as well. It is often advisable to purchase additional insurance from the same company since they tend to offer discounted rates to long-term customers. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't obtain several rate quotes, but the first one to consider is your existing company. In addition, many companies now have instant rate quotes over the Internet, though their actual premium may differ slightly for any number of reasons.

There is never a good time to think about long-term care insurance because we don't want to admit that we may need it. However, the best time is today before there something happens that we do need it. Unfortunately, in our changing world, unusual things happen every day, and you don't want to find yourself needing long term care for yourself or family member and not have any idea how you re going to pay for it. Get at least five quotes, one from your current insurance company, and make your decision before you need it.