The relatively new type of insurance covers the costs of long-term care -- from in-home care for a month or two to skilled care in a nursing home for an indefinite period. Costs for the policies range from less than $1,000 a year to as much as $9,000, depending on the services covered, coverage amounts and the age of the person who buys the policy.

"The largest long-term care policy I have sold was to a single widow with $10 million in assets," said Dan Daniel, managing director for the Raleigh office of the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. "She chose to buy a policy because she never wanted her children to be in a position of deciding which of her assets they were going to dispose of to take care of Mom."

Like other decisions facing people in this age group, whether to buy long-term care insurance involves a bewildering range of choices.

People buy insurance generally while they are still relatively young and healthy. For many elderly people, the cost of premiums are beyond their means.

According to a 2002 market survey by America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade association, average annual premiums were $2,862 for a person who was 65 years old and $8,991 for a 79-year-old. These costs were based on a policy providing a daily benefit of $150 for up to four years.

Generally, according to the U.S. Administration on Aging, financial planners say that long-term care insurance can be a good idea for people who:

* have assets of $75,000 or more -- not including home and car.

* have retirement income each year of $25,000 to $35,000 per person, or $35,000 to $50,000 per couple.

* can pay the premiums without difficulty, even if they go up over time.

According to the most recent records available from the state Department of Insurance, about 91,000 people in North Carolina are covered by long-term care insurance policies.

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