As a number of us approach middle age, one sees our parents are rapidly approaching retirement years. Some need our help, others don’t. For adult children who do are in a position where they must provide some sort of emotional, physical and/or financial support for one or both parents, it is probably way past the point where their parents would be able to even consider purchasing what is called Long Term Care products. For those who like to be proactive, however, you might be wondering exactly what is long term care insurance, and how do we get it?

In short, it’s probably one of the best investments you can make at any age. Of course, the younger you are when you buy it, the lower your premiums. But what 30 year old seriously considers his old age and associated health problems while he’s young and healthy? Not many!

As we put off buying the insurance, the premiums increase and finally, for too many of us, we learn the hard way that we will be needing some type of long term care and we either find that we have huge deductibles because we’ll need to use our regular health insurance, or worse, we find out we have to pay for everything out of pocket.

However, dollar for dollar, long term care insurance is one of the most affordable insurances on the market in terms of what you get for your money. This type of insurance provides exactly what it promises – funds to pay for long term care – whether in a medical facility such as a nursing home, or even at home.

The policies can be customized to your needs, or at least, what you think these needs might be. Even though it’s impossible to tell the future, you can always get a good idea of what you should add to these policies simply by understanding your family’s medical history. If your family has a history of coronary heart disease in their 50s, you should seriously consider the best possible coverage if at all possible. In reality, you can’t afford not to.

Depending on the insurance company will depend of course on your policy now, and what type of add ons and options you are able to buy at later dates. For instance, if your 62 year old husband is in a head on collision and you find that he will need extensive long term care, you may or may not be able to increase your policy to suit the current situation.

These policies can provide an incredible amount of financial help when the time comes. With long term facilities averaging over $500 a day, not many regular insurance plans will cover these for more than a few weeks – no matter what.

Before you go out and buy a policy go to insurance-e-quote for more info on long term care insurance. We represent 20 of the top LTCi providers. This gives you tremendous options.