Long-term care insurance

[simon43]

Is it possible to obtain long-term care insurance which will cover/contribute to the costs associated with the provision of long-term care when elderly or frail, either in a registered care home or in one's own home?

 

I have a comprehensive medical insurance policy for both illness and accident.  But that insurance is not intended to cover the costs if one needs long-term care or assistance, such as might be the case if one has dementia or is too physically frail to live and function alone.

 

I'm no longer married and live alone - hence my interest in a policy of this type, in case I start to lose my 'marbles' or become too frail in my twilight years.

 

I know that care homes in Thailand typically charge a minimum of about 30,000 baht a month, (although the cost will be higher if one requires close care).

 

I hope that I can see out my time on this earth healthy and happy and single!  But it's always wise to plan for these types of eventuality.

 

Sheryl? Nancy L? - Do you know of any insurance policies of this type?  I appreciate all comments and advice.

[dinga]

I'm also very interested in this subject.

 

Does anybody have any information/(useful) comments????  Sheryl??  Nancy ???

[KittenKong]

This article explains the pros and cons quite well, but it doesnt seem to be a common product and may never be.

 

https://www.gocompare.com/health-insurance/long-term-care/

 

I would have thought that one simpler way to prepare for this would be to buy an annuity that would provide enough income to cover the cost of such care. As long as you dont need the care you can just spend the income, or reinvest it, and if one day you do need the care then the money would be there every month to pay for it without you having to worry about it.

 

Of course the usual arguments against annuities apply, and with interest rates where they are now could be a bad time to buy an annuity in any case. And you would need to consider inflation.

 

[ThaiBunny]

Just now, KittenKong said:

Of course the usual arguments against annuities apply, and with interest rates where they are now could be a bad time to buy an annuity in any case. And you would need to consider inflation.

While I agree generally I've been investigating annuities in Thailand on behalf of someone young-ish who has a lump sum to invest as the result of an accident that leaves them unable to work and, frankly, I can't find anything that isn't a retirement annuity to be accessed some time in the future after paying regular premiums over a long period of time

[KittenKong]

1 minute ago, ThaiBunny said:

While I agree generally I've been investigating annuities in Thailand on behalf of someone young-ish who has a lump sum to invest as the result of an accident that leaves them unable to work and, frankly, I can't find anything that isn't a retirement annuity to be accessed some time in the future after paying regular premiums over a long period of time

I was thinking of a lump-sum old-age annuity as that seemed to be what the OP was after. It's what I might be interested in too. There are many of these available in the UK and for £100k invested at age 60+ they currently pay around £4k per year. So £200k invested now should cover future care-home costs here at today's prices. Payments are VERY variable from different providers though, and depend on individual circumstances, and inflation has to be considered.

That would not be suitable for the sort of person you describe though. For such a person a wide spread of index-tracking ETFs plus some REITs might be a better bet. Or perhaps contact a specialist insurance broker. Hard to say and I am not a financial advisor.

 

I dont know if Thailand is really sophisticated enough for products like annuities so I would be inclined to look overseas as well as here.

[ThaiBunny]

22 hours ago, KittenKong said:

I dont know if Thailand is really sophisticated enough for products like annuities so I would be inclined to look overseas as well as here.

Unfortunately the beneficiary is a Thai and his lump sum is in Thai baht. I'm disinclined to suggest he take on a foreign exchange risk as well

[KittenKong]

^^^ Fair enough. Very sensible.