Here is a fact sheet from Age UK which has some info on deferred payments
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/E...rmanent_care_home_provision_fcs.pdf?dtrk=true
As regards annuities, my mother went into a care home in 2007 and we sold her house immediately, and as interest rates were good then and care home fees a lot lower, her pension, attendance allowance and interest were enough to pay the fees. We put her money into a 2 year bond but after that the interest rate on the next bond was far lower and my sister did some calculations on how much of the capital would be eroded if she lived for many years. We then decided to take out a deferred annuity, which would kick in after 3 years and pay all her care home fees for the rest of her life, but it did mean that if she died within 3 years the money would be lost. Unfortunately she only lasted a year after that, but at the time myself, my brother and sister decided that it was worth it to protect the remaining capital, and save us from the worry that if her money might run out if she lived for long time
I think insurance companies base a lot of these products on the fact that the average time someone lasts in a care home is 3 years. Obviously some live a lot longer but many also die in about a year. If we had taken one out to start immediately, it would have been ridiculously expensive, and in view of the fact that she only lived for 1 more year, we would have lost far more.
Get all the financial advise you can. There are specific firms that specialise in this type of annuity but your friend will probably have the details of these.
Also did you consider renting your dads house out or would it not bring in enough combined with the attendance allowance and his pension?
Wishing you all the best xx