Buyers of long-term-care insurance are snapping up hybrid policies, which package long-term-care coverage with other forms of insurance. These policies allow heirs of consumers who die without using their long-term-care coverage to get at least a partial refund of their premiums, and are insulated from the premium increases that have given the insurance industry a black eye in recent years. But buyers need to understand the trade-offs involved.
"There is no right or wrong answer," says Claude Thau, an insurance broker in Overland Park, Kan., who helps financial advisers with long-term-care planning for their clients. "While hybrids provide a death benefit for heirs, traditional policies provide more long-term-care insurance" for each dollar in premiums.