Long-term care: Risk description of a Spanish portfolio and economic analysis of the timing of insurance purchase

Abstract

This paper analyses the rationale of long-term care (LTC) insurance purchasing from a statistical analysis of insurance data and a life cycle model. We make a short survey of the pros and cons of LTC insurance purchase. Then risk distributions in the occurrence and duration dimension are estimated on a Spanish portfolio. Calendar effects are estimated besides age and gender. These statistical results are integrated in a life cycle model of savings and insurance purchasing. A numerical illustration is also provided, which leads to an optimal age of 40 years for insurance purchase. © 2008 The International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics.