I enjoyed my good friend and colleague Margie Barrie’s column in June’s Senior Market Advisor Magazine.

Long-term care insurance allows you to have choices, access and options not just now, while you are independent, but through the final days of your life.

The following actual testimonials are from Margie’s column. They are written by LTCi claimants and families. Thanks to colleagues Mark Goldberg and Matt McCann for sharing these.

Written by a claimant’s husband:

“We bought our policy when we were 60. My wife had a stroke when she was 64. The stroke left her partially paralyzed, and we were devastated. She required care to just cope with the stuff you have to do every day to live. If it wasn’t for this insurance, she would have gone into a nursing home permanently. But because she had this protection, we could bring help into the house. We didn’t have to change the way we lived. Without the policy, I would have been the one who provided the care and my daughter would have had to quit her job to help me.

“Because we had this policy, it prevented us from having to change our life, and that made all the difference in the world. As far as I am concerned the value of having the policy is priceless. It’s probably the best investment we have ever made.”

Written by claimant’s daughter and son:

“We didn’t even know that mom and dad had long-term care insurance until they both got sick. This policy made helping them find the best care for their circumstances so much easier.

“We had no idea how flexible their policies were. The fact they had the choice of going into an assisted-living facility instead of a nursing home has given us both great relief. We might not have that option if we didn’t know we would have the dollars the policy provides them for the care.

“My brother and I have both applied for coverage for ourselves as we have experienced firsthand what the impact of having these policies can have. My parents never wanted to be a burden, and I don’t want to be a burden to my kids.

“I am a mother of two teenage  children and if I had to be the one who had to coordinate and provide my parents’ care, it would make my life impossible. My brother is in a similar situation.”