Long-term care insurance (LTC) is the provision of funds to meet the costs of care that may arise along the way, when a person is no longer able to perform competently some of the daily basic actions involved in looking after themselves.

Long-term care insurance policies are no longer sold. They were used to provide a regular form of income to meet the cost of nursing home fees, or for home care to those no longer able to take care of themselves properly for reasons such as a disability or old age. The needs of an individual would have to be discussed with an advisor to ensure that needs are met with the cover provided.

The need for this cover has increased because:

• Families are less able to take care of elderly relatives than perhaps they were in earlier generations (maybe because they live further away from each other, there are restrictions on their time, or because their accommodation is unsuitable);
• People are living longer these days;
• Expectations of quality of life in later years are higher;
• There are worries or concerns about the standard of care that the state and the NHS can realistically be relied upon to provide.