As we age, the likelihood that we will need long-term care services at home or in a facility greatly increases. Long-term care insurance will pay for part or all of the costs of this care. Given the high costs of these services, why don’t more people buy insurance to cover them? They often don’t act because they make mistakes like the following. You want to avoid them, right? Keep reading!

Mistake 1 – Procrastination. Neither you nor I like to think of a time in the future when we cannot meet our needs independently. The very idea is at least disturbing. It could even be scary.

You may now feel good and healthy. You may find it difficult to think about the future when you are fragile.

What to do instead – Look at the numbers: The National Long-Term Care Information Center says that more than 70% of 65-year-olds will need some form of long-term care services in their lifetime.

The Oregon Division of Insurance has reported that in 2007 a year in a private room in a nursing home cost about $ 76,000 in Portland and $ 71,000 in the rest of the state. Home health aide services cost about $ 31 an hour in the Portland area and $ 46 in the rest of Oregon. Those numbers are 8 years old. They are certainly much taller now.

Do you want to bet that you won’t need these services? If you lose the bet, it will cost you.

Mistake 2: worrying about cost. Yes, long-term care insurance is expensive. After thinking about your cost of living and setting aside an emergency fund, you may not be able to pay your premiums.

But, if you can afford the premiums and want to buy a policy, waiting is another gamble. Insurance companies carefully examine your health before issuing a long-term care insurance policy. If you wait too long, an unexpected health problem can prevent you from buying any policy.

What to do instead – Determine if you could afford a policy and if you want to buy one. Visit an insurance advisor.

Your advisor can review your financial situation with you. It can also recommend a policy or policies that are best suited to your financial circumstances and meet your specific needs.

Mistake 3: not consulting an insurance advisor. You’ve probably read that insurance salespeople only care about selling you policies to earn a commission. This may have made you hesitant to consult an advisor.

That may be true for some advisers. After all, bad apples exist in all occupations. It is not true for all of them.

You need an advisor to help you review your financial situation. More importantly, an advisor can tell you what products are available to meet your specific needs. It can also help you understand why this is the case.

What to do instead – Meet with an insurance advisor after you’ve done your basic research on the Internet. Realize that you are the person who decides how that meeting unfolds. Come with a series of prepared questions.

If the answers are not satisfactory or if some other aspect of the meeting does not meet your expectations, find a new advisor.