Should your parents buy hybrid long-term care insurance?

Everyone ages eventually — including your parents. But while you can't stop father time, you can prepare for his arrival with a long-term care insurance policy that will help pay for long-term services your parents might need as they get older. These types of policies often include coverage for nursing homes, at-home care, hospice services and occupational therapy.

But there are other options that can help prepare for your parents getting older, including a special type of long-term care insurance plan known as a hybrid policy. This type of policy offers coverage for certain types of services as they get older and also offers similar cash benefits to a traditional life insurance policy.

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Should your parents buy hybrid long-term care insurance?

If you want to make sure your parents have the right long-term coverage and that you'll be able to take care of everything after they're gone, a hybrid long-term care insurance policy could be the best move. Here's why:

Long-term care can eat away at savings

Long-term care services can be very expensive. The average cost of a room in a nursing home is more than $ 9,000 a month, according to Genworth's latest Cost of Care survey. In turn, those costs could become insurmountable at some point, no matter what resources you have at your disposal. If you buy a long-term care policy, though, some of these costs are likely to be covered by your insurance policy.

Long-term care insurance works like any other insurance policy. You pay premiums now in exchange for coverage for the services you need later in life. 

And, the best time to purchase a policy is between the ages of 55 and 65, according to Jesse Slome, the director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. After that, it becomes increasingly difficult to meet the health requirements insurance providers have for these types of policies.

So, if you have a parent who is in that age range or approaching it, it may benefit you to talk to them about how they could fit long-term care insurance into their budget right now. Otherwise, they could end up paying a lot more later.

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Hybrid policies help with costs after death

Life insurance can help a person's surviving family deal with the many costs associated with death. This could include funeral costs, legal fees and the costs associated with taking an estate through probate.

This is where hybrid long-term care insurance comes into play. These policies combine long-term care insurance benefits with a death benefit that is generally paid out when the policyholder dies. 

Each plan works differently, though. Some only pay out the death benefit if there are unused long-term care benefits left over. Others have a set death benefit that you get no matter what. Some pay out a minimum death benefit plus any other unused money that was designated for long-term care services.

"People like the fact that if they don't need long-term care, their beneficiaries benefit from receiving a death benefit," says Slome.

Slome does note, however, that these policies are more expensive than a regular long-term care insurance policy. As such, it may be important to talk to your parents about their current life insurance holdings to help them determine whether fitting a hybrid policy into their budget makes sense.

Peace of mind may be worth the cost

Above all else, having a hybrid long-term care policy can offer some peace of mind to you and your parents. Not only will they have coverage for the care they need, but they won't have to cut costs to afford it. 

Furthermore, knowing that cash will come your way to defray expenses after they die can also offer peace of mind. After all, the average funeral costs between $7,000 and $12,000, according to a 2023 study from insurance company Lincoln Heritage. That could cause serious havoc to your finances if you aren't prepared — but the death benefit from a hybrid long-term care insurance policy can help to assuage any fears.

The bottom line

A hybrid long-term care insurance policy provides money for long-term care services and a death benefit. If your parents purchase this type of policy, it can help to ensure that they are taken care of as they age and that there is money leftover to cover the costs after they're gone.