Long-term care is one of the biggest unplanned costs in retirement. A nursing home can cost well over $100,000 a year, assisted living tens of thousands, and even part-time home care adds up fast — and Medicare does not cover most of it. Long-term care insurance exists to protect your savings from exactly that risk, but its price varies enormously with the age you buy, the daily benefit you choose and how long the benefit lasts.
This free estimator gives you a planning range in seconds. Answer five quick questions and you will see an estimated monthly and annual premium for 2026, plus the total benefit pool your policy would pay out. It takes less than a minute — and it shows why buying a decade earlier can cut the price dramatically.
What moved your estimate most
The range spans ±20% around the central estimate to reflect how much quotes differ between insurers for the same applicant. The benefit pool is the daily benefit × 365 days × benefit years (before inflation growth); a lifetime benefit has no fixed cap.
How we estimate
This tool is deliberately simple and transparent. Every estimate follows the same formula:
Estimated monthly premium = base rate for your age × (daily benefit ÷ $100) × benefit-period factor × inflation factor × gender factor
The base rate is the approximate monthly premium per $100 of daily benefit for a healthy applicant buying a 3-year policy with no inflation protection. Each of your answers then adjusts it:
- Age at purchase (monthly per $100 daily benefit): 40–49: $55 · 50–54: $75 · 55–59: $105 · 60–64: $145 · 65–69: $200 · 70–74: $290 · 75+: $420. Premiums rise steeply with age because the chance of claiming soon is much higher — this is why buying at 55 typically costs roughly half what buying at 65 costs for the same cover.
- Daily benefit: the premium scales in proportion to the daily benefit, so $300 a day costs roughly twice $150 a day. Pick a benefit close to the actual cost of care in your area; anything less leaves you paying the gap from savings.
- Benefit period (0.85 – 1.60): 2 years 0.85 · 3 years 1.00 · 5 years 1.25 · lifetime 1.60. A longer period protects against the rarer, very long claim but costs more every month for decades.
- Inflation protection (1.00 – 2.00): none 1.00 · 3% simple 1.25 · 3% compound 1.50 · 5% compound 2.00. Compound inflation roughly doubles your daily benefit over about 24 years, which matters because most people buy decades before they claim.
- Gender (1.00 – 1.25): male 1.00 · female 1.25. Women on average live longer and need care for longer, so insurers price female policies higher.
Worked example: a 55-year-old woman choosing $150 a day for 3 years with 3% compound inflation gives roughly $105 × 1.5 × 1.00 × 1.50 × 1.25 ≈ $295 a month, shown as a range of about $236–$354 a month. Her total benefit pool is $150 × 365 × 3 ≈ $164,250 before inflation growth.
Frequently asked questions
How much does long-term care insurance typically cost?
It depends heavily on the age at which you buy. As a rough planning guide, a healthy 55-year-old buying a policy paying around $150 a day for 3 years might pay roughly $100–$150 a month without inflation protection, while the same policy bought at 65 could cost roughly twice as much, and at 75 it could cost several times more. Women typically pay more than men because they tend to need care for longer. This tool gives you a personalised planning range; real quotes vary by insurer, health and state.
What is the daily benefit in long-term care insurance?
The daily benefit is the maximum amount your policy pays per day toward care — for example $150 a day toward a nursing home, assisted living or home care. Your total benefit pool is roughly the daily benefit multiplied by the number of days in your benefit period. If care costs more than your daily benefit, you pay the difference out of pocket.
Is a longer benefit period worth it?
Most care needs last under 3 years, so a 3-year benefit period covers the typical case and costs much less than a 5-year or lifetime benefit. A longer period buys protection against the rarer, very long claim — for example dementia care lasting many years. The trade-off is a premium roughly 25% higher for 5 years and roughly 60% higher for lifetime cover in this estimator.
Should I add inflation protection to long-term care insurance?
Inflation protection increases your daily benefit each year so it keeps pace with rising care costs, which historically grow faster than general inflation. A 3% compound inflation rider typically raises the premium by roughly 50% in this estimator, but without it a $150 daily benefit bought at 55 could cover far less care by the time you are 80. Younger buyers usually benefit most from inflation protection.
Keep reading: long-term care guides
An estimate is a starting point — these guides help you decide whether the cover is right for you:
- Long-Term Care Insurance Cost: What You Actually Pay — average costs by age, what drives the price, and when it is worth buying.
- Disability Insurance for the Self-Employed — how income protection differs from long-term care cover, and why many people need both.