Know Who’s Behind Your Money – PART 6

This post is part 6 of 8 in our groundbreaking series on how do you tell the bargains from the dissipation? Here’s look at some offers that often don’t pay off, plus smart ways to save your money.

What we talking about is someone who you give your money by your will. There is groups of people are after your money, you know all about it and you like to hold on as much of it as you can. Let us start by list them out one by one.

No. 6 – Pet Health Insurance

When Steve Potter got a German shepherd puppy last year, his vet recommended that the sign up for a $22-a-month health plan offered by Veterinary Pet insurance, America’s largest pet insurance company. “They make a lot of promises about how great the coverage is and how good their service is,” says Jason Torbick, a 42-years-old physics professor from Blairstown, New Jersey. He was disappointed, however, when the covered plan refused to cover a $312 claim for treating diarrhea. The illness, VPI said, has occurred during a 14-day waiting period before the coverage kicked in. Weeks later, the puppy came down with another stomach bug, requiring an $750 overnight hospital stay. Again, VPI denied the claim. “They contended that it was a preexisting condition,” says Potter, who appealed the decision.” all they refunded was $18.”

There was a time long ago when people took their pets to the vet and if the news was bad, they put their pets to sleep. Now days we insure our cars, our business, our health, our life, our rental properties and tons of other things as well as pet insurance because Paying anywhere from $15 to $75 a month for coverage makes sense because it can save the owners a huge amount of money in the long run. But you might see hard times and lots of denials if your research is not good enough before taking any insurance plan.

“Our dog was in to see the vet. She had some rods put in her legs a few yrs. In 2007 she only went to the vet to get her yearly shots and that was it. Our policy started in Sept 2007. She got medicine for her knee that was infected because of her rod in June 2008. It was denied. A few weeks later I took her in and they did blood work to check her thyroid. She is hypothyroid. Again the claims department said that it was pre-existing. I don’t know how that is pre-existing when this is the first time she was diagnosis with it. I called and challenged their decision. I had her medical history in front of me when I did call so when they claim something happened at a certain date, I was ready. I was told that the info would be resent to claims department. I would be contacted in a few days. It has been a month since I made that call and no check, explanation to my reasons for their denial or a phone call. We pay lots of money for the policy for her and I don’t know how any of those claims could be pre-existing when they didn’t exist when she went on the policy.” Says Michele from Vancouver, WA.

Know Who’s Behind Your Money-part 6

Most of the large pet insurance company offers the attractive traditional fee-for-service plans where you choose from different coverage options and pay deductibles as well as premiums. There are also discount clubs that offer reductions on all services, for a yearly fee. Many plans consider where you live; the age, species and breed of your pet; pre-existing conditions; and sometimes lifestyle activities. America spends an estimated $195 million annually on pet plans, which typically cost $15 to $75 a month. Over pet’s 11-year life span, that can add up to as much as $6,500 – hefty considering that vet bills for a typical pet average about $4,000 over a lifetime. The policies are loaded with exclusion, and some don’t cover vaccinations. A VPI spokesman says, “Pet insurance shouldn’t be evaluated on the possible return of investment.”

The best advice to take sting out of vet bills, factor the cost of routine care-about $453 a year for dos and $363 for cat-into your budget, along with few hundred dollars extra for emergencies.

Like the article? Share it.

LinkedIn Pinterest

Leave a Comment Yourself

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *