1. Buy a group policy through your employer.

Since it is a group policy that is subsidized by your employer, the premium will be lower that if you purchased an individual policy.

2. Apply for coverage before your next birthday.

Since your premium is based on your "issue age", the age you are when you apply for coverage, each year you wait your cost will increase by 8% to 12%.

3. Apply for coverage with your spouse.

This Joint or Shared Benefits Policy provides more flexibility in using your combined benefits and can lead to a Spouse/Partner discount of up to 25%

4. Take advantage of good health discounts.

By applying for coverage before you have health issues, you could receive a "Healthy Person" discount of between 5% and 25%. Even if your health deteriorates in the future, you will retain your "Healthy Person" discount for the rest of your life.

5. Take advantage of tax deductions.

Under current Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines, premiums on tax-qualified long term care policies are considered medical expenses. If your total medical expenses exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, you may be able to deduct the premiums on Schedule A. If you are a business owner, you can deduct all of the premiums for long-term-care insurance even if you do not you itemize.

6. Lower your daily benefit.

Lowering your daily benefit by 20% may result in a 20% lower premium.

7. Select a longer elimination period.

This is the amount of time that you pay out of pocket before the policy starts to pay. Increasing your elimination period from 0 to 90 days can save you up to 15% per year in premiums.

8. Make fewer Premium Payments

You can save 8% a year by making one lump sum payment instead of paying monthly or quarterly.

9. Get several quotes for long term care policies.

Prices for the same coverage can vary by hundreds of dollars, so it pays to shop around.