Long-Term Care Insurance Cost by Age: 2026 Premium Ranges

Long-term care insurance cost rises sharply with the age at which you apply. Using the regulator-published table in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Shopper’s Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance (2022), a $200 daily benefit with a four-year benefit period, a 20-day elimination period and 5% compound inflation averaged $4,349 a year at age 50, $5,331 at 60, $9,206 at 70 and $13,500 at 75.

Those figures describe one policy design. Change the daily benefit, benefit period, elimination period or inflation growth option and every number moves, often by more than a decade of age would. Age is the loudest variable in long-term care insurance costs, but not the only one.

How much does long-term care insurance cost by age?

Long-term care insurance helps cover the cost of care that health coverage and Medicare generally do not: bathing, dressing, transferring and other activities of daily living, plus supervision for cognitive impairment. A policy is one way to pay for long-term care; savings, home equity and family caregiving are others, and most households that plan for long-term care use a combination. What long-term care insurance can provide is a pool of dollars released when a benefit trigger is met, converting an open-ended future care exposure into a known premium.

Long-term care insurance costs vary far more than published averages suggest, because a policy is a set of choices, not a product with one price. Two people the same age can pay very different premiums for the same long-term care protection. Two non-carrier sources publish premium data with assumptions attached: the NAIC table above, and the price index from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, a long-term care insurance trade association, calculated for an initial pool of long-term care benefits of $165,000 in “select” health. Neither is a quote, and neither should be confused with annual cost of care surveys, which measure what care itself costs.

Age 50: the lowest long term care insurance costs in the table

A 50-year-old averaged $1,294 a year for a $200 daily benefit over four years with a 20-day elimination period and no inflation protection. The same policy with 5% compound growth averaged $4,349; a lifetime benefit period with 5% growth averaged $7,347 — more than fivefold at a single age.

Ages 55 to 60: average cost of a long-term care insurance policy

The trade association’s 2026 price index, calculated July 2026 for a $165,000 initial benefit pool, reported these annual costs at 55 in select health: a single man paid about $950 for level benefits that never grow, $2,200 with a 3% compound growth option, $3,710 with 5%. A single woman paid about $1,500, $3,750 and $6,400 for the same three designs.

At 60, NAIC averages were $2,057 with no inflation protection and $5,331 with 5% compound growth, both for the four-year, $200-a-day, 20-day design. The trade association’s July 2026 sampling of a couple both aged 60, each with a $165,000 pool and 3% growth, found annual costs from $4,591 to $7,173 depending on the insurance policy quoted — a 56% spread for identical long-term care benefits.

Age 65: long term care insurance policy costs for couples

The 2026 index reported an average $7,030 a year combined for a couple both age 65, each with a $165,000 initial benefit pool and a 3% compound growth option, priced July 2026. Annual costs quoted for the same coverage at 65 varied by as much as 80% between insurers, which is why a published average is a starting point, not a price.

Age 70: long term care costs as decline rates climb

NAIC averages at 70 were $4,914 a year without inflation protection and $9,206 with 5% compound growth, for a $200 daily benefit, four-year benefit period and 20-day elimination period. Six years raised the inflation-protected figure to $10,549; lifetime raised it to $15,070.

Age 75: the highest cost of long-term care coverage

At 75 the table showed $8,146 with no inflation protection, $13,500 with 5% compound growth over four years, and $20,930 for a lifetime benefit period with 5% growth. Against age 50, the inflation-protected four-year premium is roughly three times higher; without inflation protection, roughly six times.

Why age at application drives long-term care insurance premiums

Traditional long-term care insurance is priced on issue age. The premium is calculated from your age, health class and benefit design the day the policy is issued, then set at that level; it does not step up because you have had another birthday. The trade association puts it plainly: rates cannot change for one insured because that person got older, since any change must apply to a whole class of long-term care policies.

That explains the steepness of the curve. An insurer pricing a 50-year-old collects premium for three decades before a long-term care event becomes likely, with those dollars earning interest. An insurer pricing a 75-year-old has a far shorter window and a closer expected claim, so the annual cost must be higher to fund the same pool of long-term care benefits.

Issue-age pricing does not mean the premium can never change

The NAIC guide warns readers not to be misled by the phrase “level premium,” and says that for almost all long-term care insurance policies, companies cannot guarantee premiums will never increase. They can raise rates on an entire class of policyholders in a state, subject to regulatory approval, but the guide states a company cannot single out an individual regardless of claims history or declining health.

Those increases have been substantial. A Society of Actuaries review in the actuarial profession’s Long-Term Care News, April 2025, found the average increase requested across 2024 submissions was 56%, up from 47% in 2021, against an average approved increase of 28%. Requested cumulative increases on some older blocks exceeded 400%, and most large increases are phased in.

Florida adds its own review. The Florida Department of Financial Services states that all long-term care policies issued in the state are guaranteed renewable, so the company cannot cancel unless premium goes unpaid, and that rate increases require Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approval with at least 45 days of written notice.

Why couples’ long-term care insurance costs differ from single pricing

Insurers price two people who apply together differently from two who apply separately. At 55 with level benefits and a $165,000 pool each, a single man at $950 and a single woman at $1,500 total $2,450 separately, while the same two quoted as a couple came to $2,080 — about 15% less. With 5% compound growth, two singles totaled $10,110 against $8,575 for the couple, again roughly 15% less.

Two things drive that. Partners provide informal care assistance to each other, shortening the period of paid care services and lowering expected claims. Many couples also buy shared-care designs, which the NAIC guide describes as coverage where the maximum lifetime benefit applies to both individuals. One shared pool costs less per person than two full pools, though one spouse’s extended long-term care event can consume benefits the other might later have needed. Gender matters throughout: those July 2026 figures put a single woman 55% to 70% above a single man for identical long-term care coverage at 55.

How health underwriting decides who can buy long-term care protection

Long-term care insurance is medically underwritten, so the published price is only available to people who qualify for long-term care coverage. The NAIC guide notes insurers review medical records and physician statements, and that applicants with conditions likely to mean care is needed soon generally cannot buy long-term care coverage.

Declination rates rise with age. The long-term care insurance trade association, reporting industry survey data, published 2019 results showing decline rates from 19.4% at ages 40 to 49 up to 53.6% after 75. More recent data from the same trade association found 38.2% of applicants aged 65 to 69 declined, and 47% of those applying for traditional long-term care insurance between 70 and 75 declined or deferred. A study in Health Affairs, August 2016, estimated roughly 30% of financially qualified applicants aged 50 to 71 would be rejected under simulated underwriting standards.

The cost of long-term care insurance at 70 is therefore not simply the age-70 premium: for many applicants it is unavailable at any premium.

Some conditions are automatic disqualifiers, typically those predicting near-term physical or cognitive disability. Others, such as controlled high blood pressure, move an applicant from preferred to standard health class, and losing a preferred discount raises the premium for the same design. Some employers sponsor a long-term care insurance program with modified underwriting, which changes the qualification picture.

How benefit design changes the cost of long-term care insurance policies

Holding age at 60 and switching from no inflation protection to 5% compound growth moved the average annual cost from $2,057 to $5,331, about 159% higher. Holding the design constant and moving from 60 to 70 moved it from $5,331 to $9,206, about 73% higher. One design decision outweighed a decade of age. Benefit design is where an estimate of future care needs and long-term care needs becomes a premium.

The levers that move long-term care insurance costs, in rough order of impact:

Inflation growth option. The NAIC guide states inflation protection means much higher premiums. It also sets what the policy is worth later: $200 a day growing at 5% compound is about $1,103 after 35 years, $677 after 25 and $416 after 15.
Benefit period. Policies with longer maximum benefit periods cost more. At 70 the four-year design averaged $9,206 and the lifetime design $15,070, both with 5% compound growth.
Daily or monthly benefit amount. A larger daily benefit costs more, scaling close to proportionally. A smaller one will not cover costs in full, but it caps the exposure at a lower premium.
Elimination period. The days of required care you fund yourself before long-term care benefits begin. A shorter one carries a higher premium, a longer one a lower premium.
Health class. Preferred, select and standard classes price differently for identical coverage.

Every lever decides which type of long-term care the policy will cover. Contracts can cover long-term care at home, in assisted living and in a nursing home, or be narrower; some pay for short-term care or add a pool for care options outside the standard definitions. The schedule of benefits is the only reliable statement of what a long term care insurance policy does, and none will cover care outside its written definitions. An insurance agent or state insurance department can explain unclear terms.

Purchasing long-term care insurance earlier: lower premium for more years versus higher for fewer

The common assumption is that buying earlier is cheaper overall. The arithmetic is less one-sided. Using NAIC averages for a $200 daily benefit, four-year benefit period, 20-day elimination period and 5% compound growth, held to 85 with no rate increase:

Bought at 50 at $4,349 a year: 35 years of premium, about $152,215 total.
Bought at 60 at $5,331 a year: 25 years of premium, about $133,275 total.
Bought at 70 at $9,206 a year: 15 years of premium, about $138,090 total.
Bought at 75 at $13,500 a year: 10 years of premium, about $135,000 total.

Total outlay lands in a similar band at all four ages. What differs is what the money buys: the age-50 policy has compounded 35 years and provides roughly $1,103 a day by 85, the age-70 policy roughly $416. The age-50 buyer also committed capital two extra decades and carried exposure to class-wide increases over a longer window; the age-70 buyer avoided both and accepted a higher probability of not qualifying at all.

Understanding long-term care pricing this way — total outlay against what the pool is worth when you need care — is more informative than asking which age is cheapest. Neither buyer knows whether future long-term care will come at home or in a facility, and both pay for care out of pocket during the elimination period. Adding additional long-term care coverage later is priced at the older issue age and requires passing underwriting again.

What long-term care services cost and who is likely to need long-term care

Premiums only mean something against the long-term care expenses they offset. Research published in 2017 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation found 70% of adults who survive to 65 develop severe long-term services and supports needs before they die, and 48% receive some paid care. Most people who reach 65 will need long-term care in some form, and the form of long-term care matters: home care, assisted living and nursing home care carry very different price tags.

Duration is the other half. Average severe need lasted 2.2 years; 24% received more than two years of paid care and 15% spent more than two years in a nursing home, while a 2021 ASPE brief projected roughly 37% will receive nursing home care after 65 and about 9% for two or more years. Most long-term care events are short; a minority are very long and very expensive.

Care itself is measured separately. Annual cost of care surveys track hourly rates for in-home care, monthly rates for assisted living and daily rates for nursing care, and long-term care expenses vary widely by state and by the type of care needed. Someone who will receive care at home for a few care hours a day faces a very different bill from someone who will receive care in a nursing home full time. Rising care costs are why inflation growth options exist, and why long-term care costs are quantified in today’s dollars and projected forward.

Traditional versus hybrid: which type of long-term care insurance costs more

The figures above are for traditional long-term care insurance policies, where premium buys long-term care coverage and nothing else. A second category uses policies that combine long-term care benefits with life insurance or annuity contracts, sometimes as a long-term care rider on permanent life insurance, leaving a life insurance death benefit if care is never needed. These hybrid life and long-term care designs are usually funded with a single premium or short schedule and often guarantee against class-wide increases.

Because the pricing includes a death benefit, the cost per dollar of long-term care benefit is generally higher, so the two cannot be compared on premium alone. Underwriting is often less stringent, which matters at older ages. The insurance protection is structured differently and funds different long-term care outcomes.

Frequently asked questions

Can a 75-year-old buy long-term care insurance?

Yes, though price and odds of qualifying both change substantially. Trade association data on 2019 applicants showed a 53.6% decline rate after 75. For those who qualify, NAIC 2022 averages at 75 were $8,146 a year without inflation protection and $13,500 with 5% compound growth, on a $200 daily benefit, four-year benefit period and 20-day elimination period.

At what age do long-term care insurance premiums become too expensive?

There is no fixed threshold, because affordability depends on benefit design as much as age. The NAIC table shows the premium roughly tripling between 50 and 75 for an inflation-protected four-year policy, and roughly six-folding without inflation protection. Older applicants often reduce the daily benefit, lengthen the elimination period, shorten the benefit period or step from 5% to 3% growth — which changes what the policy pays as well as what it costs.

How much is long-term care insurance for a 70-year-old woman?

No government, regulator or trade association source publishes a gender-specific average at exactly 70. The NAIC 2022 blended average at 70 was $9,206 a year for a $200 daily benefit, four-year benefit period, 20-day elimination period and 5% compound growth, and $4,914 without inflation protection. July 2026 trade association pricing showed a single woman at 55 paying 55% to 70% more than a single man, so a woman’s cost at 70 sits above the blended figure.

Do long-term care insurance premiums increase over time?

Not because you age. Premiums on traditional long-term care insurance policies are set at issue age and do not step up with your birthdays. They can rise through a class-wide increase applied to all similar policies in a state and approved by the state insurance department; the Society of Actuaries reported an average approved increase of 28% in 2024. In Florida, increases require Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approval and at least 45 days of written notice.

Can you get long-term care insurance if you have existing health conditions?

It depends on the condition. The NAIC guide notes applicants with conditions likely to mean care is needed soon generally cannot buy long-term care coverage. Many managed chronic conditions do not cause a decline but move an applicant into a higher-priced health class. Underwriting differs between companies and between traditional and hybrid products.

Do you need long-term care insurance?

There is no universal answer and this article does not offer one. Research shows most people who reach 65 will need long-term care services at some point and roughly half will pay for some of it. Households weigh a policy against self-funding future care needs, and against family caregiving.

What is the difference in cost between traditional and hybrid policies?

Traditional long-term care insurance charges an ongoing annual premium that buys only long-term care benefits and can be increased class-wide. Hybrid policies that combine long-term care benefits with life insurance are usually funded with a single premium, often guarantee against increases, and return a life insurance death benefit if care is never used. Per dollar of long-term care benefit, hybrids generally cost more, because part of the premium funds the death benefit.

Disclosures

This article is general information about how long-term care insurance is priced. It is not financial, tax, legal or insurance advice and is not a recommendation to purchase or decline any insurance policy. Premium figures are averages published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (2022), the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (a long-term care insurance trade association, 2026 price index, priced July 2026) and the Society of Actuaries (April 2025), with the benefit assumptions stated alongside them. Actual costs depend on your age, health class, state, insurer and benefit design; no figure here is a quote. Benefits, exclusions and benefit triggers are governed solely by the issued contract. Lifeworth Insurance Agency is a trade name of Lifeworth Financial Group LLC, National Producer Number 21228343, licensed in Florida.