In the mid-summer heat, Fern Zimmerman sat in an easy chair with a shawl tucked up against her shoulders. Her distant look told the story. Alzheimer's has wrapped its fists around her brain.

And the way her husband Abbey Zimmerman said he sees it, an insurance company has also wrapped its fists around his wallet.

"I think they just wear them down and people give up," he said of battling with insurance companies.

Mr. Zimmerman said he too is nearly worn out over the insurance policy he bought for long-term healthcare. Long-term healthcare insurance is supposed to help elderly Americans pay for nursing homes or alternative care when in need in their waning years.

Eleven years ago, Mr. Zimmerman bought the long-term care (LTC) policies for him and his wife. He was 73 then, and each year since his premiums have gone up. Now, at age 84, he pays $10,000 a year to maintain the policy for him and his wife.

But in his eyes, he isn’t getting what he bargained for. His experience is a primer of some of the potential pitfalls in buying LTC coverage.

In 2007, Fern fell in the kitchen and banged her head. The dementia she suffers from worsened. She was hospitalized, and once in rehabilitative facility, often became unruly.

The director of the facility said she couldn’t be in a nursing home because of her behavior. But at first, the LTC insurance company said it wouldn’t pay for anything but a nursing home.

This was one of several confusing and irritating events for Mr. Zimmerman. He discovered the firm he bought the policy from, American Heritage Life, sold his policy to Allstate Insurance in 1999. Allstate sold his policy to Mutual of Omaha a year later.

While Mutual of Omaha still owns Zimmerman’s policy, when he called to voice his complaint, he was referred to Wakely and Associates of Largo, Florida, which is a company Mutual of Omaha hired to administer some of its policies.

None of the companies would talk to News 8 about Mr. Zimmerman’s case, citing rules of confidentiality.

Because of Mrs. Zimmerman’s condition, her husband had no alternative but to care for her at home.

Although his LTC policy says it will pay for “alternative care,” Wakely and Associates at first denied his request to pay for home nurses. Wakely finally agreed to $440 a week, which is less than half of what the policy stipulates. But even now, Zimmerman says he has not been reimbursed for the reduced rate.

“Once [Wakely and Associates] make an agreement, they’re there to chisel you down just as low as they can,” he said.

Mr. Zimmerman also pointed out that he has paid more than $70,000 in premiums.

LTC is one of the hottest insurance products being sold to baby boomers.

“You need to consider Long Term Care as part of your financial plan,” it states on one insurance company's website. “You’re never too young to buy a long term care policy.”

The younger one is when they buy a policy, the lower their annual premiums. But, there are many uncertainties in buying a policy that won’t be used for decades, including inflation, rising premiums and the policy coverage.

“You don’t know how much the premiums are going to go up,” said Lynda Ender, at the Senior Source of Dallas.

Although state law prohibits insurance companies from raising LTC premiums indiscriminately, they can still be raised over the life of the policy.

“You don’t know when you get there and you need it [if] it’s going to be enough coverage for you," Ender said. "There are just so many variables for the whole thing.”

The Texas Department of Insurance regulates LTC policies. It says insurance companies change hands often enough that the firm you buy from will probably not be the one that ultimately pays you.

The insurance department exists in part to help consumers with complaints against insurance companies. But with LTC policies, the best protection may be in doing thorough research before you purchase.

E-mail bharris@wfaa.com