LTC insurance, or long term care insurance is a kind of policy that will pay a preset amount of care costs when the insured person is recognized as chronically ill and will require help in performing two or more activities of daily life – such as toileting, bathing, eating, dressing and transferring and continence. Once the person needs the benefits of long-term care insurance the company will be paying benefits during a certain period of time specified in the agreement or until the person insured does no need this kind of care anymore due to whatever reasons. In most cases long-term care insurance will help to cover costs of nursing home stay, in-home care, assisted living residency, custodial care, informal care and care provided in hospice care. If you have gotten yourself a good insurance it will even be possible to get benefits for care that your family will provide. Long-term care insurance can help you to pay for a wide variety of services, such as home health aides, visiting nurse, adult day care and occupations therapist (custodial care means your personal needs, such as eating and bathing will be taken care of). Long-term care insurance policies offered by different companies can vary greatly in the benefits you will get once the policy is triggered, and that's why it's important for you to clearly understand what you will have covered in case you will need it. According to the current statistics, about 50% of people over 65 years old will need some kind of long term care assistance before dying. According to the Wall Street Journal half of all citizens older than 85 years old suffer from Alzheimer's. This disease is the main reason why people need long term care. Since people are now living longer they are more likely to need this kind of insurance because of mental diseases like Alzheimer's, dementia or other diseases such as stroke, cancer, heart problems and Parkinson's disease. Depending on the kind of long-term care insurance you buy (you may be looking for a cheaper variant, or more advanced one) you may be provided with not-skilled care or skilled care. You will be helped with bathing, toileting, continence, eating and other basic tasks. High care costs can deplete your retirement savings in no time, which is why long-term care insurance is a great way to get the help you need without putting the burden on your family or your personal budget.