I'm interested to see the numbers, so thanks for this thread.
When you read information online, the numbers rarely reflect cost at home vs. cost in a facility, or what type of policy you have.
I was fortunate that I bought two policies, a few years apart, 10-12 years ago. I got a Hancock policy with 5% compounded, which as of 2019 was $306/day. I made sure it included home care, as that is the most important thing for me. The broker who sold it was about to have me sign a NY Life policy, when I said, "I assume this would be valid in foreign countries, right?" Whereupon he took that policy away and brought me the Hancock. Much later I read the fine print and saw that while the Hancock does give support overseas, it's about half the amount and runs out over a few years. Used in the US, my policy is open-ended. I bought it as a 10-pay, at about $10,000/year for 10 years. It is now fully paid up.
Because home care is important, I looked at costs again a couple of years later and bought a second policy. Genworth was the only place still offering 10-pays, so I got a policy that currently covers $140/day. Open-ended, but no overseas coverage at all. I have one more payment to make on it, in about a month. (It used to be $6,000+ per year, and now is $9,000+.)
Both have 90-day delays, though the Genworth agent told me the delay does not apply to at-home care.
I was feeling pretty good about this ("I'm over-insured! Go me! I'll never have to worry about this"). Then about three years ago I reviewed my coverage and realized that both policies together would only cover about 14 hours a day in my home, leaving ten hours for me to scramble to fill as I burnt through money at a fast clip. I then went on a deep dive, looking at various hybrid vehicles, with particular attention to those that operate globally. I also learned from an expert that there are two main types of LTC policies: one is called "reimbursement" (the sort I had with Hancock and Genworth, in which you have to hire qualified (according to the company) help and have them submit hours for repayment; this can lead to all sorts of paperwork delays). There's another type of policy where, if you qualify for LTC, you're given the money and spend it however you need to. Hire whomever you like. (I believe these are referred to as "indemnity only.")
This is useful for a number of reasons, one being that as we get older it may become harder to find help that qualifies, especially if you don't live in a major city. (Too many boomers, too few qualified caregivers.) This way you can hire someone who lives down the street, if you don't need very specialized care all the time.
And there were indemnity-only hybrid policies that were good overseas, so it left options open.
I dithered for quite a while over the possibilities, too busy with my job to finalize anything. Along the way, an agent pointed out a couple of things: first, I had 5% compounding, so my care might cover more hours 20 years from now. Second, there are unofficial things people do to stretch into the hours LTC does not cover. For instance, you could offer a room in your house to someone who agrees to act as a caregiver, and they could cover the night hours when you might not need as much assistance.
So for the moment I've left it at the two policies. And when I relocate, I want a house that I can share with at least one roommate and still have a room for a caregiver.
