Group long-term care through your employer offers coverage at even lower costs. Benefits may be skimpier than those offered by outside policies, but they're usually good enough.

There's an advantage to buying at 50 or 55. Premiums are lower than if you wait 10 years. You're more apt to be healthy (most insurers won't take you if you're sick, although Penn Treaty offers a limited-benefit policy to poorer risks). What's more, you'll need a larger policy in 2017 to cover the increase in costs, says Jesse Slome of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. LTC agent Geoff Gordon of Maga Ltd. in San Diego adds that future policy designs may be more expensive, too.

On the downside, you don't know whether your company will stay in the LTC business. That's an argument for buying from the majors (Genworth, John Hancock, MetLife, Allianz Life) or a large membership group such as AARP.

For people with large sums of money they don't expect to use for retirement income, the industry is pitching new combination products. For example, you might drop $100,000 into a life-insurance policy. If you do need long-term care, you can get up to 100 percent of the death benefit in cash, tax-free. If you don't need care, the policy's proceeds go to your heirs. Look at Genworth's Total Living Cover-age, John Hancock's LifeCare Benefit option or policies from Standard Life.

If you can't get life insurance because of poor health, consider the combo tax-deferred annuity from State Life, Great American Life and others. Thanks to a change in the law last year, it too can be used tax-free to cover long-term care, starting in 2010.

You'll need an experienced LTC agent to sort out these choices and hold your hand while you're writing the check. But believe me, you won't regret the cost, if long-term care becomes necessary for someone you love.

Reporter Associate: Temma Ehrenfeld

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