The price of long-term care coverage has been rising for years, and 2025 is no exception.
According to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, a healthy 60-year-old couple can now expect to pay roughly $4,000 to $5,000 a year combined for a policy with meaningful benefits.
A single 60-year-old man might pay around $1,500 annually, while a woman the same age often pays closer to $2,500.
The gap between men and women is not random.
Insurers price policies based on how long they expect to pay claims, and women statistically live longer and file more long-term care claims.
That longevity gap shows up directly on the premium notice.
Couples who buy a shared policy can sometimes soften the blow, but the savings are smaller than they were a decade ago.
Carriers got burned in the 1990s and 2000s when they underestimated how many policyholders would need care and how long they would need it.
Several major insurers exited the market entirely.
The ones that stayed raised rates, tightened underwriting, and repriced older blocks of policies—sometimes by 50 percent or more in a single adjustment.
For shoppers, that means the quote you get today is not locked in forever.
Most policies include language allowing future increases if claims and investment returns run worse than expected.
Some states have pushed back with rate-stability rules, but those protections vary widely depending on where you live.
There is also a bigger question: is the coverage worth it?
A private room in a nursing home now averages over $120,000 a year, and in-home care runs about $30 an hour for a home health aide.
Medicare generally does not cover long stays.
Medicaid only kicks in after you have spent down most of your assets.
That leaves families with three basic paths.
Self-insure and hope savings cover the bill.
Buy a traditional policy and accept the premium risk.
Or look at hybrid products—life insurance with a long-term care rider—that guarantee a payout even if you never need care.
Each option carries trade-offs, and none is cheap.
If you are considering a policy, the timing matters.
Premiums jump sharply with age, and a diagnosis of diabetes, heart disease, or cognitive decline can make you uninsurable.
Many advisors suggest starting the conversation in your mid-50s, while you are still healthy enough to qualify.
Comparing quotes from at least three carriers is standard practice, since pricing varies more than most shoppers expect.
One practical tip: ask about the elimination period and the daily benefit cap.
A policy that pays $150 a day may sound generous until you realize a semi-private nursing home room averages closer to $300 a day in many states.
Inflation riders, which grow your benefit over time, add cost but also protect against exactly the cost spiral we have seen for two decades.
Our take: long-term care insurance is not right for every household, but ignoring the issue entirely is a plan too.
The cost of care keeps rising, and the cost of coverage keeps rising with it.
Final Thoughts
The longer you wait, the fewer options you will have.