The financial consequences of needing help with daily living: bathing, preparing and eating meals, getting into and out of beds or chairs, dressing, using a toilet. Long-term care insurance also covers Alzheimer's Disease.

LTC insurance designs are numerous. They are available through group and individual policies; benefits are paid daily, as needed, or in greater amounts; some pay static benefits, while others are inflation-protected. Most individual policies are stand-alone and have no cash value. A few are sold as riders on life insurance policies or annuities.

Basically, everyone but the poor and the wealthy. Many financial planners believe TLC insurance should be part of most people's plans.

There is plenty of uncertainty. The cost of long-term care can be staggering - $50,000 a year for a private room in a nursing home; $46,000 a year for daily home care. If your assets are low, you would quickly spend through them and qualify for Medicaid. For the affluent, how much do you need to self-insure? Estimates range from $2 million to $5 million, not counting real estate. You'll need to consider how much you own, how much your portfolio will earn each year, and how high inflation will be. Americans have trillions of dollars of equity in homes, so many experts believe reverse mortgages may be appropriate for paying LTC expenses.

If you are likely to want a policy, buy it soon to lock in lower premiums.

Annual or monthly premiums for stand-alone policy. Payroll deductions for worksite policy. Lump-sum payment for combined life/long-term-care policy.