Daytona Beach Senior AdvisorWhat is the basic difference?
A continuing care contract, regulated by the Office of Insurance Regulation under Chapter 651, exchanges an entrance fee and a monthly fee for housing and a promise of future assisted living and nursing care; rental assisted living is a month-to-month AHCA-licensed residence you pay for as you use it.
In Volusia and Flagler, OIR lists only two continuing care providers, both in West Volusia: John Knox Village of Central Florida in Orange City and DeLand Senior Care in DeLand. Rental assisted living is available across both counties.
Who is a continuing care contract for?
Someone healthy enough to qualify for independent living today, with assets to pay an entrance fee, who wants to settle where future care will happen and to share some of its cost risk with the provider.
Providers screen health at entry. A person who already needs daily help usually cannot buy a continuing care contract and will be looking at rental assisted living instead.
How do the costs compare?
A continuing care contract requires an entrance fee, often tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on contract type and refund plan, plus a monthly fee; rental assisted living has no entrance fee, but its monthly rate rises with care level, around a Florida median of about $5,500.
OIR reviews contracts, not prices, so ask each provider for its fee schedule and the last five years of monthly fee increases.
What are the risks of each?
A continuing care contract carries provider financial risk and contract complexity, which OIR's reserve and reporting rules are designed to limit; rental assisted living carries price risk and the chance of a 45-day notice if needs exceed the license.
Read the refund terms of any contract, and the continued-residency criteria of any rental building, before deciding.
How do coastal families usually decide?
Many coastal retirees choose to age at home and move to rental assisted living near family when needed, while those who want one long-term plan and are willing to move inland compare the two West Volusia providers.
The drive from the beachside to Orange City or DeLand is part of the decision, especially for a spouse who still lives on the coast.
At a glance
| A continuing care contract | Rental assisted living | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | OIR for the contract, AHCA for care units | AHCA only |
| Upfront cost | An entrance fee, partly refundable on some plans | Usually a modest deposit |
| Entry | Health screening; usually independent at move-in | Admission based on current care needs |
Sources: Chapters 408, 429 and 651, Florida Statutes; Florida Administrative Code chapters 59A-36 and 65A-2; publications of AHCA, DCF, OIR and the Department of Elder Affairs; and the CareScout and VA tables named on the page. See our editorial standards for how figures are checked.
