Younger is Better

It is important to apply for long term care insurance at the youngest age you can afford to do so. The reason is that your chances of being approved are better. You can also potentially qualify for a good health discount. That discount decreases as you age since your health is typically not as good.

Percentage of Applicants Who Qualify for Good Health Discount

Age of Applicant and percent who qualify
Under 30 == 66.5%
30 to 39 == 61%
40 to 49 == 53.7%
50 to 59 == 44.2%
60 to 69 == 31.9%
70 to 79 == 18.8%
80 and Over == 11.2%

Source: American Association for Long Term Care Insurance AALTCI.org, Study of 2005 policy applicants. Data released Feb 2006.

I'll be honest. From the applications that I receive in the office, we don't see anything near these numbers as people approach age 50. The reasons typically are the height/weight ratio, smoking or use of high blood pressure medication. If you are thinking about long term care insurance, do it while you're young.