When purchasing hybrid long-term care insurance, you'll need to make several decisions that determine how much coverage your policy provides—and how much your premiums are. If you're looking for inexpensive hybrid long-term care insurance, here are two tips to help you find an affordable policy.

Talk with an Independent Insurance Agent

An independent insurance agent who is licensed in your state will both be able to help you select the coverage and limits that are right for you and help you find the least expensive policy that meets your needs.

While your coverage selections will ultimately be your decision, any insurance agent who offers hybrid long-term care insurance will be able to give you the information you need to make wise decisions. They'll be able to answer your questions about terms and conditions, and they'll probably have a few suggestions that you aren't even aware of.

Only independent insurance agents, however, will be able to make sure you get the best price on a hybrid long-term care policy. Agents who work with a particular insurer can only show you policies from that insurer. In contrast, independent agents can get you quotes from every insurer that offers hybrid long-term care policies in your state. They can show you how much each insurer is charging for the coverages you choose so you can know you're getting the most affordable one.

Consider Your Deductible, Benefit Period, and Inflation Protection

Hybrid long-term care insurance is a combination of whole life insurance and long-term care insurance. By adjusting your long-term care insurance benefits, you can change how much you'll have to pay for a policy. Lowering your coverage reduces your protection, of course. It may make sense to select limited coverage, though, if you have assets that could help pay for a portion of any long-term care that you may need.

There are three specific long-term care benefits that you may want to consider:

• the deductible, which is how many days after you're eligible for long-term care before your insurer begins paying for it
• the benefit period, which is how long your insurer will pay for long-term care
• the inflation protection, which is how much your benefits increase each year to compensate for inflation

Increasing your deductible, reducing your benefit period, and lowering your inflation protection can all reduce your premiums because you're assuming more of the potential costs of any long-term care you need in the future.