LONDON - Britons will be urged to buy insurance to cover the potential costs of care in their old age while the cash-strapped government will also be asked to shoulder more of the financial burden, a report will recommend on Monday.

Economist Andrew Dilnot, the author of a government-commissioned report, has branded it a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance to fix the way Britain finances care for its growing numbers of old people.

Like other European countries, Britain has an ageing population. Many elderly people need expensive care either at home or in special accommodation at a time when state spending is shrinking and family budgets are under huge pressure.

Residential care for the elderly is means-tested and anyone with more than a relatively modest 23,250 pounds ($37,372) in assets has to pay their own way. As a result, older people fear that their life savings could be swallowed up by care costs, leaving them nothing to pass on to their children.

Political parties have debated the question for several years, but there are no simple and cheap answers.

Dilnot is expected to recommend a cap on how much any elderly person has to pay for their care - a figure of between 35,000 and 50,000 pounds has been suggested.

That would allow financial companies to tailor insurance products to cover that potential liability. At present, insurers are reluctant to cover what could be a limitless cost.

Dilnot is also expected to recommend the government contribute more to cover the cost of care - potentially up to 2 billion pounds per year.

That will cause a headache for a Conservative-led coalition determined to cut public spending. It also runs contrary to its efforts to shift the burden of paying for things like university education and public sector pensions from the state to the individuals benefiting.

Care home operator crisis

The issue has risen back up the political agenda after care  home provider Southern Cross ran into financial problems, raising concerns about the welfare of its 31,000 residents, many of whom are elderly and frail.

The government has said it will not bail out the company but indicated that local authorities might try to keep homes running, rather than shunt vulnerable people to new accommodation.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said he had not yet seen the Dilnot report, but agreed that reform was needed.

"At the moment we're in a situation where it's a terrible lottery," he told BBC TV.

"One quarter of people have effectively no substantial care costs, whereas there's another quarter where the costs exceed 50,000 pounds, and for 1 in 10 it's over 100,000 pounds.  

"Some people end up through just what is in effect chance events -- they happen to have dementia in old age, for example -- they end up losing everything that they worked for in life."

Leaders of 26 charities involved in providing care to the elderly wrote to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper calling for cross-party talks to follow the report and a timetable for a consensus to be reached.

"Our political leaders must not let reform fall off the table for another generation," the letter said.

"Otherwise the terrible stories of the last months, of neglect and abuse of the most vulnerable, will only grow worse."