Part of our guide: Long-Term Care Insurance: Costs, Options and Planning →
People buy long-term care insurance because they love their families. Business owners have a second family to worry about: their company and employees. Framing long-term care around both makes the conversation land.
Key takeaways
- Long-term care is a family issue, and for owners, a business continuity issue too.
- Focus on the impact a care need would have on family and business, not on policy features.
- Business owners can often pay premiums with business dollars and deduct them.
“It’s not a question of whether your family will take care of you. It’s how — and what it would mean for them and the business.”
5 conversation starters
- “I’d like to talk about living a long life, and how to be prepared so your family and business are protected.”
- “Long-term care insurance isn’t really protection for you. It’s protection for your family.”
- “Long-term care is a family issue. Do you have a plan to protect yours?”
- “Your family will take care of you because they love you. The question is how, and what it would cost them.”
- “Long-term care insurance lets your family keep their promise to care for you, better and for longer.”
Add the business angle
If the owner needed care, who would run the business? Would a spouse or child have to step away from it, or from their own career, to become a caregiver? Long-term care planning belongs in the same conversation as succession planning. See using an LTC rider in a buy-sell.
The tax advantage
Business owners can often pay premiums with company dollars. C-corporations can generally deduct the full premium; self-employed owners can generally deduct up to IRS age-based limits. See selling LTC to small business owners.
Frequently asked questions
Should business owners buy long-term care insurance?
Often yes. A care need can affect both their family and their business, and premiums may be deductible.
Can a business pay for an owner’s long-term care insurance?
Yes. C-corporations can generally deduct the full premium, and other business types have partial deductions based on IRS limits.
Why do people buy long-term care insurance?
Most buy to protect their family from the burden and cost of providing care.
Reviewed by Tim Fuller on 2026-09-25
Tim Fuller
President, SRS Inc.
Tim leads SRS Inc., a full-service IMO (Independent Marketing Organization) and BGA (Brokerage General Agency), connecting independent financial professionals with life, annuity, disability income, and long-term care solutions from 60+ carrier partners.
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