How long will I live? . . . do I HAVE to decide NOW ??

I've been talking with the guy who handles benefits for our firm about getting long-term care insurance.  I'm not only having a problem deciding exactly what kind and how much, but it's also beginning to make me feel really OLD!  

But given the problems Dad had that last year of his life, I want to be sure I have enough insurance to cover whatever care I need so Wendy won't have to worry about my finances if it comes down to that.  On the plus side, the cost of the insurance will certainly more than pay for itself unless I end up dying in a car accident or get trampled by a horse or something.  It looks like it will cost somewhere between $1500 to $2500 a YEAR for a policy that will pay out from $3000 to $4500 a month for as long as I live.  So say it's 20 years before I need to collect (which would make me 86!), the total premiums I will have paid will be somewhere between $30K and $50K.  In one sense, that's a lot, but the policy would pay back the amount of all those premiums in just 10 months!  SURELY I would collect payments for longer than ten months!  The "average" period folks need long-term care is actually 6 years - which would make me 92 and the payout at that point between $216K and $324K!  (The premiums are much less if you agree to a 6-year limit on the pay-out period, but I hate to think that I might have to plan to either die or be homeless at the end of a specific time period, so I doubt that I'll go for that.)   The fact that it pays for home care as well as living in a long-term care facility is encouraging, too.  I HOPE I can stay in our house surrounded by dogs and horses until the very end!

I guess I need to track down Wendy, though, to find out more about how much money will probably be needed, since she is the one who handled all the financial details for her Grandpa.  And I guess I should ask the agent if it matters which state I'm in when I collect, as well.  If anything were to happen to Mark before me, I might want to go back to Ohio if I'm no longer able to care for the horses anyway.  Janet?  Torri?  I hope someone I know is young and healthy enough at the time this kicks in to still have horses.  Maybe then I could pass on to one of YOU any remaining horsies and some money to take care of them???

Good grief!  I want to STOP thinking about the end of my life RIGHT NOW, and start thinking about the holidays coming up instead!!!  Merry Christmas, people!