Long-Term Care insurance is not for everyone. Everyone seems to have their own reasons why they have not purchased this type of insurance. There are the obvious reasons based on sound financial decisions and other reasons based on feelings or emotions that are not very sound or reasonable.
For example, if you have done a thorough investigation into the cost of premiums from a Long-Term Care specialist who has provided you with quotes from several of the major carriers and have found that the cost is just beyond what you can reasonably bear, this insurance is not for you.
But if you are like most people, the reason you may hesitate about preparing for possible future long-term care needs has very little to do with reasonable decisions. It is most likely based on feelings and emotions instead. And often, it is based on not wanting to deal with a future event that may or may not happen and one that is unpleasant to think about.
Many people live in a state of denial about their possible need for long-term care services in the future. This is often because they have always been relatively healthy and so, they find it hard to imagine themselves in a situation where they may need assistance with activities of daily living.
Another reason is that some people remember that their parents just died suddenly or within a short period of time and so they figure that most likely the same will happen to them. Who can predict the future? Modern medicine and the advances made in medical science are keeping us alive longer and giving us the ability to stay active well beyond the years of our parents. I am sure you have heard that the new 60 is really 40 and so on. It is obvious that more people are living longer and often need more care in the last years of life. And this care is extremely expensive.
With some people the state of denial is so strong that very little thought has gone into the matter at all. This is because just the thought of this kind of subject seems so depressing that there is a conscious choice to just not approach the subject at all or maybe put it off for a later time. And that time never comes.
Are any of these thought processes based on fact? Anyone knows that good health can change overnight. Almost everyone has knowledge of someone whose health situation changed dramatically in a very short period of time. This risk obviously increases with age. So the chances of it happening to an individual are very real.
For those who just refuse to even think about their future health care needs, the question must be asked "Who will be left to make this decision for you?" What if it does happen to you? Will you have the ability to make a sound decision? Will you put the decisions up to your closest relatives?
Simply choosing not to think about the subject does not make the possibility of needing long-term care any less real. It simply defers the decision to those you love the most. They will often have to make decisions about your care at the last minute when the choices are extremely limited, unpleasant and stressful.