On the Motivations for Purchasing Long-Term Care Insurance: Protecting Bequest and Unreliability of Family Care

Abstract

Family considerations are known to influence the decision to buy long-term care (LTC) insurance. This paper uses a Swiss survey to identify the characteristics of individuals willing to purchase LTC insurance, either to protect their children’s bequest or because they cannot rely on family for care. First, it shows that the presence or absence of children plays an important role in the two motivations for buying LTC insurance. Second, it shows that individuals from the French-speaking part of Switzerland and those with lower self-perceived health are more likely to buy LTC insurance because of the unreliability of family care. On the other hand, individuals with higher self-perceived health and those with a right and center political orientation are more likely to buy LTC insurance for reasons of bequest protection. The results provide insights into designing more targeted strategies to promote LTC insurance.