Getting help
Planning for long-term care is a complex matter. Here are some tips on how to get advice so you get a product that's right for you. Detailed analysis of your income, savings, capital and benefits needs to be made, so you should seek advice from an authorised financial adviser with specialist knowledge in this area before taking out any product to cover long-term care costs.
An adviser should only recommend a product if it is right, and suitable for you, based on the information you give them.
Firms advising and selling LTCI have to be regulated by us, or be the agent of a regulated firm. Regulated firms and their agents are put on our Register and have to meet certain standards. Always make sure that the firm you use is on our Register and is allowed to sell or advise on LTCI before handing over your money. You can ask the adviser if they are qualified in this field. If they aren’t regulated by us and things go wrong, you won't have access to complaints and compensation procedures. To find out if a firm is on our Register, see Check our Register.
If you don’t take advice before choosing a long-term care insurance policy, and if it turns out to be unsuitable, you will have fewer grounds for complaint.
Important information
Step 1
When you contact an adviser they must give you information about their services and costs.
Use this information to shop around to get the service you want at the price you’re happy with.
Step 2
Once the adviser has ascertained that a particular long-term care product is suitable for you, they'll give you a Key Features document, which sets out:
- the particular features of the product;
- how it works;
- the policy benefits;
- what premiums you’ll have to pay; and
- how long you have to decide not to take out the policy – the 'cooling-off' period.
Make sure you get this information – ask the adviser to explain anything you don't understand and use it to shop around and compare products from other firms.
