When Care Gets Costly: Helping Clients Prepare for Assisted Living

She didn’t plan to become a full-time caregiver. But when her dad fell, she had no choice. One phone call changed her life—and her income.

$70,000 a year. That’s the average cost of assisted living in the U.S. And it’s rising faster than inflation.

Yet most clients underestimate these expenses. And many advisors avoid the conversation altogether. But if we want to build truly holistic plans, long-term care isn’t optional—it’s essential.

Financial professionals must treat assisted living like a guaranteed liability. Your client may never buy that beach house—but 70% will need some form of long-term care. And when that day comes, how they’ve planned (or haven’t) will make all the difference.

Four Smart Strategies to Help Cover Long-Term Care

1. Life Insurance with a Long-Term Care Rider
This increasingly popular solution allows clients to leverage a single policy for two needs: income protection and care funding. Life insurance with an LTC rider provides access to the death benefit while living, if long-term care is needed. For clients concerned about “use it or lose it,” this structure offers peace of mind—knowing they’ll benefit from the policy no matter what. Underwriting is often more favorable than standalone LTC, and many products offer flexible funding options to fit diverse financial situations.

2. Hybrid Life + LTC Policies
These policies combine life insurance with long-term care protection. If care is needed, the policy pays out for services. If not, the family still receives a death benefit. This structure directly addresses a major client objection: “What if I never use it?” Many hybrids also include return-of-premium options and more flexible funding.

What sets hybrid policies apart from permanent life insurance with an LTC rider is how the benefit pools are structured. With hybrids, there’s typically a dedicated LTC benefit pool that can exceed the death benefit—often offering 2x or 3x leverage. In contrast, LTC riders on permanent life insurance generally accelerate the death benefit for care, meaning the total available benefit is capped by the face amount. Hybrids also often require a single premium or limited-pay schedule, while permanent policies with riders may offer more ongoing flexibility.

For clients with liquidity who want predictable value, tax efficiency, and dedicated long-term care protection, hybrids offer an appealing, all-in-one solution. 

3. Annuities with LTC Riders
For clients who may not qualify for traditional insurance—or who have assets they aren’t using—LTC annuities provide a powerful solution. These contracts can turn a lump sum into a stream of income with enhanced long-term care benefits. And because underwriting is typically simplified, clients in their late 60s or 70s may still qualify. This approach can create an income bridge while protecting against rising care costs.

4. CHEIFS: A Smarter Way to Unlock Home Equity
Instead of recommending reverse mortgages—which carry significant long-term risk—advisors can now leverage CHEIFS (Cornerstone Home Equity Insurance/Investment Funding Solutions). This patent-pending strategy allows clients to convert a small fraction of their home equity into tax-free cash, without taking on debt or giving up ownership. That cash can then be used to fund life insurance, annuities, or hybrid products with LTC benefits. Clients remain fully invested, maintain homeownership, and create future optionality for their heirs. With over $35 trillion in home equity nationwide, this strategy is reshaping how advisors fund protection and legacy planning.

Why Clients Really Buy LTC Coverage

It’s not because they believe they’ll need care.

It’s because they want to protect the people they love.

When clients think of long-term care, they often imagine nursing homes or worst-case scenarios. But the real cost isn't just financial—it's emotional, relational, and deeply personal. LTC coverage provides options. It allows family members to remain family—not forced caregivers. It gives clients control over where and how they receive care, and preserves dignity in the most vulnerable moments of life.

In truth, clients don’t buy LTC coverage for themselves. They buy it for their spouse. Their kids. Their peace of mind.

From Insight to Action: The Advisor’s Role

You don’t have to be a long-term care specialist to add immense value. You just have to start the conversation.

Here’s a simple script to bring the discussion into focus:

“If your daughter needed to quit her job to care for you full-time, what would that cost your family? Should we plan for that possibility—or prevent it?”

This approach works because it humanizes the risk. It shifts the conversation from abstract expenses to real-world consequences. When people visualize their child or spouse stepping into a caregiving role, the need for protection becomes personal—and urgent.

Your job is to plant the seed. The product recommendation can come later. First, open their eyes.

Closing the Coverage Gap

Only 3–4% of Americans over age 50 carry private LTC coverage.

Meanwhile, nearly 7 in 10 will need care.

This isn’t a niche issue—it’s a looming crisis. And while many financial professionals still shy away from LTC because of past product complexity or bad press, the industry has evolved. Modern solutions are more flexible, more accessible, and more client-friendly than ever before.

The advisors who lean in now will be the ones clients remember later.

Your Next Step

Be the advisor who gets the call before the crisis—not after.

Add long-term care to your next client review. Lead with empathy. Focus on protecting family roles, not just funding care. And when your clients say, “No one’s ever explained it like that before”—you’ll know you’ve made a difference.

Planning for care is planning for life. And you’re the one who can make it happen.