A recent article in The Wall Street Journal painted a bleak picture for those who have or are thinking of acquiring long-term care insurance. Premiums are soaring to the point that they have become unaffordable to many seniors. Insurance companies are nearly doubling premiums after realizing they had charged too little when the policies were introduced in the 1980s and 1990s. Insurance carriers have lost money and are leaving the market after widely underestimating the speed in which healthcare costs would rise, how long seniors would live and how many would actually use the premiums. These types of articles show the importance of creating structured settlements for injured parties, especially when long-term care is part of the mix.

The cost of long-term care with an inflation component can be factored into a structured settlement. The payments are guaranteed. This means that families of injured parties can have the peace of mind of knowing that the money will be there to pay for the long-term care of their loved ones.

In addition, by placing the structured settlement assets in a Special Needs Trust, injured parties can receive needs-based public benefits such as Medicaid, Medical and SSI to augment structured payments.