Comments for Insurance Blog

Comment on ABC News Nightline Saving Daniel: A Year in the Life of One Brave Boy by Scooter

Scooter — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:03:27 +0000

This story starts out like your typical holiday piece, tragedy hits, all is lost, let’s look for some good in it. Not so here, this real life story follows an amazing boy, with the most positive attitude and outlook, through a treatment program so tough that I doubt most adults would have the commitment to complete. With his mother by his side, he takes each step with the belief that he is one step closer to being finished and moving on with his life. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but you simply have to see this to the end…Daniel and mom Lisa are 2 amazing people who had the blessing of being at St. Jude’s where they appear to have given Daniel’s life back to him.
Rating: 5 / 5

Comment on Critical Condition by Jillian F. Potter

Jillian F. Potter — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:11:44 +0000

The movie was somewhat informative and was very personalized, which was good. But it was pretty slow and mostly depressing without any hope for a solution.
Rating: 3 / 5

Comment on Is Pet Insurance A Good Idea? Are There Any Personal Stories Anyone Can Share? by KoKoKiTTy is depressed

KoKoKiTTy is depressed — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:40:53 +0000

It really depends on the company. Some I was looking at do cover shots and regular vet trips but they wanted $55 a month for my healthy 3 year old cat, the lower monthly payments only covered accidental/partial dental etc. You really need to read the fine print to see what each individual plan covers. What some people do it take the amount, say $20-30 a month and put it aside in a separate bank account for emergencies. A lot of my family have pets that and semi-indoor/outdoor so they tend to get injured a bit more than indoor pets, with the exception of one cat who had cancer, they all would have lost money on the insurance. Also, check to see if the plans have a max coverage, where they stop covering for an illness at a certain dollar value. Other things to note: they won’t cover costs due to a pre-existing condition or if it is a know illness that is associated with a certain breed. You will have to submit after you pay for the service/surgery and its not always 100% coverage. Overall it can be beneficial, but only usually if your pet experiences extreme illness or injury that is costly. For just everyday vet visits, I don’t think it will benefit much.

Comment on Is Pet Insurance A Good Idea? Are There Any Personal Stories Anyone Can Share? by Abbey

Abbey — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:26:41 +0000

I had pet insurance for the dog my ex forced me to buy for him.
Everytime I took her to the vet and paid for her bills with my money, I submitted a claim and usually got about 80% of it back.

Comment on Is Pet Insurance A Good Idea? Are There Any Personal Stories Anyone Can Share? by youdontk

youdontk — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:31:18 +0000

I don’t have pet insurance. When my animals need care I pay out of pocket, but my vet is really good about letting me make payments. My daughter has two kittens and is still in college on a very limited budget. She has an insurance plan through Bannock Veterinary that pays for neutering, checkups and some meds. She pays 20.00 per month per cat, and it appears to work well for her.

Comment on Is Pet Insurance A Good Idea? Are There Any Personal Stories Anyone Can Share? by Flute

Flute — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 08:00:50 +0000

it depends because sometimes insurance is worth it and sometimes it isnt. we had our last dog for 12yrs and he was insured and we never made a single claim so it was pointless having the insurance. for our new dog we didnt take out insurance because of the money spent on nothing last time. and of course she had an accident and it cost us over £2000 for her treatment. sod’s law really!
it depends if you want to take the risk.

Comment on What Is The Cheapest Travel Insurance For Over 70s? by hurrican

hurrican — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:55:40 +0000

If they’re traveling with a group, such as an AARP chapter, you can get a group travel policy which covers accidents, to cover all the trip members, and all the annual trips. I think Cigna did the last one I saw, for $750 a year, it covered 15 trips, averaging 50 people per trip, and 45 trip days.

Comment on Is Pet Insurance A Good Idea? Are There Any Personal Stories Anyone Can Share? by Melissa

Melissa — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:30:59 +0000

I have insurance for my dog and I am happy with it. I am a recent college grad so wouldn’t have much funds to put toward her if something huge were to happen.
It’s a pretty big deal, if you’re shopping for pet insurance, because there are so many options out there and lots of companies that have fine print (like excluding breeds or conditions of certain breeds like one person said) or benefits schedules which means they only pay up to a certaing amount for specific conditions/procedures.
I chose Trupanion for my dog after lots of research. They don’t exclude breeds or breed-specific conditions, and don’t have benefits schedules so they cover 90% of the actual bill. They also don’t have limits on amount per claim, amount per year, or claims per year, just a total lifetime limit.
Yeah it’s unfortunate that you have to be reimbursed, but that means that you can choose any veterinarian and don’t have to worry about whether your vet “accepts” the insurance or not.
Also about regular check-ups, some companies cover those, but they charge you the same amount you would pay anyway (plus a little more to make it worth it to them to offer the coverage) so it’s not worth it to you.
Of course some people will pay monthly premiums for years without needing a trip to the vet while others will rack up a $4,000 bill right away. But that’s what insurance is, isn’t it? To pay for unexpected things that you can’t afford yourself. I personally think it’s a good idea, especially on younger pets who are more likely to get into trouble and have more years ahead of them to get into trouble.

Comment on What Is The Cheapest Travel Insurance For Over 70s? by Phil H

Phil H — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:26:15 +0000

I don’t think there is a universal answer to your question because there are many factors besides age of the traveler that enter into determining the premium cost of such insurance.
It will be pretty easy for you to evaluate a couple good options at http://www.wavehelp.com/trip-cancellatio… where you can enter the particulars about the travelers and the intended trip and see what the costs would be.
Best wishes.

Comment on Is Pet Insurance A Good Idea? Are There Any Personal Stories Anyone Can Share? by Des_Ange

Des_Ange — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 07:23:42 +0000

Insurance varies between companies and policies, with some being much better than others. It is worth looking into a few different ones before you choose.
Generally, insurance does not cover routine care - such as check ups, vaccinations, neutering etc. It is intended to cover non-routine care, such as treatment for illness or injury.
As a rule, you still pay the vet up front, then submit a claim to the company to get your money back.
I feel that insurance is well worth it unless you are very rich! It only costs a few pound (or dollars whatever) per month, which virtually every pet owner can afford - but means you are not stuck when your pet needs treatment costing hundreds or thousnds that would normally be out of your budget.
We were very lucky to have good insurance with our last dog. She had a variety of problems - from slipping discs in her back, horrendous allergies, and eventually she needed chemo for cancer. The cost of all this treatment was thousands of £s - but fortunately most of it was covered by insurance.
I just think a little money each month is worth the peace of mind. I just can’t imagine having a sick or injured pet and not being able to afford treatment.