Protecting Your Pooch
FROM TOP: REDNOSE STUDIOS; ILLUSTRATION BY QUICKHONEY
Nearly a dozen firms
offer health insurance for
pets; this is a fast-growing
industry. Unfortunately,
the search for a decent
policy exposes consumers
to the same basic problems
that spurred health care
reform: high costs, shifting
rules, and fine print that
makes it hard to know what
you’re buying.
For example, policies
vary widely. The nonprofit
American Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals, partnering with
Hartville Group, offers
four levels of coverage—
from accidents only ($9.50
a month for dogs; $7.50 for
cats) to comprehensive
protection ($59 a month
for dogs; $51 for cats).
Some insurers’ plans hit
$75 or more a month.
More animal
lovers are buying
coverage—but is it
worth the money?
Do such fees make sense
for you? With $4,000 hip
replacements or $10,000
cancer treatments commonplace, “insurance is for
those who would do anything to save their pet,” says
petinsurancereview.com’s
Mike Hemstreet.
But many policies won’t
pay for hereditary conditions, and none grant
coverage of preexisting
conditions. Worse, firms
that cover an illness one
year may demand another
$5 to $10 a month to continue coverage the next.
Maximum payouts are
another factor to weigh.
“Pet owners are most con-
cerned about premiums,”
says Memphis vet Doug
Kenney, author of Your
Guide to Understanding
Pet Health Insurance, “but
they should be asking, ‘If I
have to file a $10,000 claim,
what is my total expense?’
With a $3,500 per-incident
maximum, you’ll pay
$6,500 out of pocket—plus
the premium.”
To compare policies, go
to petinsurancereview.com
or dogtime.com; both are
independent sites.
Health care credit cards, includ-
ing Care Credit (from GE Money)
and ChaseHealthAdvance, can
be used to pay unexpected vet bills and defer interest for 3
to 24 months. But the penalty for not paying off the loan on
time is steep: interest rates are as high as 27.99 percent, dat-
ing from when the charge was incurred. Both cards also have
fixed-payment plans that charge interest from the get-go.
Rates vary widely, depending on your credit history. —C.E.M.
FINANCING
YOUR VET BILLS
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
With Redbox kiosks
renting movies for a
buck, Blockbuster and
Netflix are pushing
more than the convenience of mail delivery
lately—they’re touting
on-demand viewing
via the Internet at attractive prices. While
cable and satellite
companies typically
charge $4.99 per show
for their instant feeds,
Blockbuster’s service
has no monthly fee and
costs as little as $2.99
per title. Netflix offers
its members, who pay
$8.99 a month and up,
movies and TV programs streamed over
the Internet at no extra
charge. Depending on
the company you use
and your equipment,
you can send movies to
your TV, computer, TiVo,
Blu-ray player, game
console, or cell phone.
Watch more films
for less—at home
Cheaper
Bargains
on Demand
MOVIES B Y WEB
BLU-RA Y PLA YERS
These high-definition
successors to DVD
players are expected to
drop in price by year-end. Many models can
now stream video from
the Web onto your TV
(game consoles such
as Sony’s PlayStation 3,
Microsoft’s Xbox 360,
or Nintendo’s Wii will
play streaming video,
too). By some reports,
Blu-ray players recently
retailing for $129 and up
are headed as low as
$50. —Jeff Wuorio
