Can You Get Coverage for Home Care or Assisted Living?

Many Canadians want to age at home or avoid institutional care for as long as possible. Long-term care insurance can play a key role in making that choice viable. Whether you prefer help in your own home or plan to move into a supportive residence, it is important to know how your policy responds to these options.

Both home care and assisted living are commonly covered by long-term care insurance, but the structure of your policy and the benefit type will determine how and when you receive payments.

What Counts as Home Care or Assisted Living

Long-term care insurance typically covers services that support daily living when you can no longer perform essential activities on your own. These include:

Home care services
Support provided in your residence, such as help with bathing, dressing, medication management, meal prep, and mobility.
Assisted living facilities
Residential communities where you have your own apartment or room, with access to personal care, meals, and supervision.

Eligibility is generally based on the inability to perform two or more “activities of daily living” (ADLs), such as toileting, transferring, or feeding. Cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer’s disease, may also qualify you for benefits.

How the Policy Pays for Care

There are two main ways long-term care insurance provides coverage:

Benefit Type	How It Works
Reimbursement benefit	You submit receipts for eligible expenses and are reimbursed up to your monthly maximum
Income-style benefit	You receive a fixed monthly payment to use as you choose, regardless of actual costs

Home care and assisted living costs are typically eligible under both models, but reimbursement policies may require documentation and proof of services provided by licensed professionals or facilities.

Tip: If flexibility matters to you, consider choosing a policy with income-style benefits. This gives you more freedom in how the money is used, including hiring family caregivers or using private services.

What to Watch Out For

Not all long-term care insurance policies cover every type of care. Some may:

Exclude unlicensed caregivers, including family members
Require that the care facility meets specific licensing or regulatory standards
Limit payment for lower-intensity services like housekeeping or meal prep

Caution: Review your policy’s definitions of eligible care providers and facilities. You want to ensure your plan will cover the services and settings you are most likely to use.

When Coverage for Home or Assisted Living Makes Sense

You may want to prioritize these benefits if: