---
title: "What Is Long-term care insurance? Home Care Glossary"
description: "Long-term care insurance is a private policy that pays for help with daily living when a person can no longer manage alone. Policies typically pay a daily..."
url: https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/long-term-care-insurance/
publisher: HomeCare.com
phone: 800-974-3458
start: https://care.homecare.com/?source=homecare.com
---

Paying for care

# Long-term care insurance

Long-term care insurance is a private policy that pays for help with daily living when a person can no longer manage alone. Policies typically pay a daily amount up to a chosen limit. They can cover care at home, adult day care, assisted living, and nursing homes, depending on the policy.

## Why it matters for your family

Most policies begin to pay when a person needs help with two or more activities of daily living, or has a cognitive impairment such as dementia. Policies set a daily limit, a benefit period, and an elimination period, which is a waiting time before payments begin. A family should find the policy early and read it closely. A common mistake is to assume the policy pays automatically. The insured usually must file a claim and show proof of need. Call the insurer, ask what care settings it covers, and ask whether it requires a licensed provider.

Source: [acl.gov](https://acl.gov/ltc/costs-and-who-pays/what-is-long-term-care-insurance)

[Read more: 5 Myths about Long-Term Care](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/paying-for-care/5-long-term-care-myths/)

## Related terms

-   [**Elimination period**An elimination period is the waiting time in a long-term care insurance policy before benefits begin.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/elimination-period/)
-   [**Hybrid long-term care policy**A hybrid long-term care policy combines life insurance or an annuity with long-term care benefits.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/hybrid-long-term-care-policy/)
-   [**Activities of daily living (ADLs)**Activities of daily living (ADLs) are the basic self-care tasks people do each day.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/activities-of-daily-living/)
-   [**Life insurance with long-term care rider**A life insurance policy with a long-term care rider lets the owner use part of the death benefit while alive to pay for qualified care.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/life-insurance-with-long-term-care-rider/)
-   [**Medicare coverage of custodial care**Custodial care is non-skilled personal care, such as help with bathing, dressing, eating, and using the bathroom.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/medicare-coverage-of-custodial-care/)
-   [**Private pay**Private pay means a family pays for care directly from its own money.](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/private-pay/)

[All glossary terms](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/glossary/)

## Talk to a care advisor today.

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![A caregiver and an older woman looking at a tablet together](https://homecare.preview.multisites.ai/_astro/personal-hero.DqUYygP8_1Sv1FH.webp)