The nation's long-term-care insurance companies are expected to pay $15 billion annually to policyholders a decade from now and more than twice that amount in 2032, when today's 60-year olds reach their 80s.

Some 264,000 individuals were receiving long-term-care insurance benefit payments as of December 31, 2012, according to a report from the American Association for Long Term Care Insurance.

According to recent research from the LIFE Foundation and LIMRA, paying for long-term care services is a top financial concern for the majority of consumers today; yet, few of them say that they own long-term-care insurance, the very product that can provide them with a financial safety net to help pay for their care. In fact, research from LIMRA indicates that less than two percent of consumers have an LTCI policy in force.

Seven out of 10 people aged 65 and over will require long-term care at some point during their lives, and more than 40 percent will need care in a nursing home, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Although they face the prospect of living more years in retirement than men, women nearing retirement underestimate how much they will need to pay for their future health care costs even more so than men nearing retirement, according to a Nationwide Financial survey.

First-hand experience with the challenges of financing long-term care for loved ones, as well as testimonials of hardship resulting from a long-term-care event, are the primary motivators for purchasing long-term-care insurance, but consumers are hungry for more education on this type of coverage, according to recent research from Mutual of Omaha.

The largest long-term-care insurance claim paid totaled $3 million, while the largest claim that is still being paid to an LTCI policyholder has exceeded $1.7 million in paid benefits, according to a report from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

By Ayo Mseka