| Pondering pet insurance? Work the numbers first | | Posted Sunday, February 04, 2007 2:57:02 PM by Blog57 Team | | Would you spend $20 or $30 a month for pet insurance? Yes, you read that right. There is health insurance for pets. Sales of pet insurance in the United States topped $160 million in 2005, up nearly 25 percent from $129 million in 2004, according to Packaged Facts, the publishing division of MarketResearch.com. Pet insurance covers the veterinary expenses of primarily cats and dogs, although coverage is available for other animals such as birds, reptiles and certain exotic pets. We are a nation that spends on our pets. Sixty-three percent of U.S. households own a pet, and last year they spent an estimated $38.4 billion on them, reports the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association. Of that, about $9.4 billion was for veterinary care. Still, only 3 percent of dog owners carry insurance on their animals, the manufacturers' group says.... | |
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| | | Buying pet insurance can save on vet bills | | Posted Monday, January 29, 2007 1:01:48 PM by Blog57 Team | | Sales of pet insurance in the United States topped $160 million in 2005, up nearly 25 percent from $129 million in 2004, according to Packaged Facts, the publishing division of MarketResearch.com. Pet insurance covers the veterinary expenses of primarily cats and dogs, although coverage is available for other animals such as birds, reptiles, and certain exotic pets. Sixty-three percent of US households own a pet, and last year they spent an estimated $38.4 billion on them, reports the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association. Of that, about $9.4 billion was for veterinary care. Still, only 3 percent of dog owners carry insurance on their animals, says the association. Even fewer cat owners have pet insurance, just 1 percent. For a while, Jen Popovic, a District of Columbia resident, had health insurance for her two cats, Toby and Maddie, and her dog, Sadie .... | |
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| | | Treats, walks, health policies | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 1:01:56 PM by Blog57 Team | | Money's a little tight right now for Fred Cratil as he and some relatives put the finishing touches on their new Italian restaurant. The last thing he wants to do is worry about Bruno, his 6-year-old Cairn terrier. So when Cratil, who's working as a courier until the restaurant opens, made a delivery to the offices of Petplan near Philadelphia International Airport, he was an easy sell. He became one of the first to buy pet health insurance from Fetch Inc., which sells pet insurance policies under the name Petplan. Fetch, which started selling policies in July, was founded by Chris and Natasha Ashton, an English couple who discovered, while getting their MBAs at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, how expensive a pet's illness can be.... | |
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| | | Legislators to attend chamber breakfast | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 6:59:36 AM by Blog57 Team | | A breakfast with elected state and county legislators sponsored by the Wheaton-Kensington Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Kensington will be held 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. today at Kensington Town Hall, 3710 Mitchell St. Cost is $10 at the door. To register, call 301-949-0080 or e-mail wkchamber@wkchamber.org. County chamber hostsbreakfast for new members A breakfast for prospective members of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will be held 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Z-Tech Corp., 1803 Research Blvd., Suite 301, Rockville. To register, contact Dorothy Michael at dmichael@montgomerycountychamber.com or 240-403-3513. Learn to exit businesson your own terms A breakfast mixer and seminar titled ‘‘Exiting Your Business on Your Own Terms" will be held 8 a.m.... | |
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| | | Vsurance(TM), Inc., Formed to Provide Companion Animal Resource Centers on the World Wide Web | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 11:01:14 AM by Blog57 Team | | Principals of Vsurance, Inc. have announced an array of web based companion animal resource centers for companion pet and horse owners in the United States. The Vsurance business plan eliminates many of the costs related to prospecting, sales, marketing and claims processing of pet insurance by delivering these services via the Internet. Vsurance was incorporated on July 26, 2005 in the State of Nevada. In making the announcement, President J. Matt Lile, III, stated, "We offer a unique online reference library of pet health resources, a lost and found service and shopping, as well as liability, life and health insurance. The Companion Pet and Family Horse Resource Centers include: Purrfect Pet(TM) Insurance provides companion animal owners who are members of the Purrfect Pet(TM) Club with life and health insurance products for their pets.... | |
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| | | Comment: Britain's Biggest Rip-off Gets Worse! | | Posted Thursday, November 09, 2006 11:11:58 AM by Blog57 Team | | Anyone who has been following the Fool articles for a while will know that payment protection insurance (PPI) is one of our pet hates. In case you haven't heard, payment protection insurance is optional cover which is sold alongside credit and store cards, mortgages, motor finance, personal loans and other forms of borrowing. If you are unable to work due to an accident, sickness or unemployment, it will meet your monthly repayments until you return to work, usually for up to a year for each claim. Although PPI appears to offer valuable peace of mind, in reality, it's one of the worst financial products that money can buy. The problem with PPI is that this market is ruled by lenders, which charge as much as they possibly can for this protection. Hence, commissions on PPI regularly exceed 80% (even 90%) of the premiums paid, which explains why these policies cost five to ten times as much as they could.... | |
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| | | Pros, cons of pet insurance | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 3:11:18 PM by Blog57 Team | | It has been four years since Cheri Christian and her children gathered around their beloved dog Midnight and said goodbye, but the moment haunts her still. Veterinarians could have saved Midnight, a black Labrador retriever mix who was seriously hurt after he jumped, tethered, from the back of a pickup truck. Christian simply couldn't afford $2,000 in medical and surgical bills. "My choice was between feeding my three kids or caring for my dog," Christian said. "It was heartbreaking. Midnight was our best dog ever." Christian has a new Lab now and a new way of dealing with vet bills. She carries pet insurance. Her dog, Allie, has had her share of skin allergies, ear infections and worse, but the majority of her bills have been covered by the pet policy.... | |
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| | | Comment: Get The Insurance You Really Need | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 7:13:16 PM by Blog57 Team | | Have you ever taken five minutes to look at your bank statements to see where your money goes each month? Mortgage or rent payments, council tax, loan repayments and bills are bound to take the biggest chunk of your income, but you're also bound to have the odd insurance policy in amongst them. Some of us have a whole list of them. But the question is - which ones do we really need? Insurance, although costly, has an important role to play. If you have dependents, for example, you should really have life cover. This would pay out a lump sum should something happen to you, that should at least be enough to pay off the mortgage and any debts. However, if you don't have anyone dependent on your income, life cover is a waste of money. Of course, there are ways to provide cover, should the worst happen, that don't involve insurance companies - which is called "self-insurance".... | |
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| | | WFG buys 25% stake in Hayhurst Elias Dudek | | Posted Tuesday, October 31, 2006 11:00:01 PM by Blog57 Team | | Western Financial Group (WFG) announced today that it has acquired a 25% initial interest in Hayhurst Elias Dudek Inc. (HED), the largest independent insurance broker/administrator in Manitoba. HED is one of the largest independently owned insurance brokers in Canada, with approximately 190 employees nationwide. HEDs head office and the majority of employees are located in Winnipeg, with additional offices in Toronto, Montreal and Halifax. Winnipeg is also home to HEDs Campus Insurance Centre at the University of Manitoba. The company offers flexible, innovative and knowledgeable insurance solutions through the application of risk management techniques and the proper assessment of clients insurance needs; as well, HED provides Alternative Risk Transfer solutions, such as managed, insurer-protected self-insurance programs for larger buying groups and associations.... | |
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| | | More Than launches 'Pet Saver' cheap pet insurance | | Posted Monday, October 30, 2006 1:12:14 PM by Blog57 Team | | The new pet insurance policy covers animals for as little as £4.99 a month and provides £2,000 of cover for vet bills for the first twelve months of treatment. There is no maximum age limit for cats and dogs to be insured. The policy offers benefits including a contribution to advertising and a reward should a pet go missing, cattery or kennel fees should the pet's owner be hospitalised, and a year's free membership to the Missing Pets Bureau. To go with the launch of Pet Saver More Than has launched a new free website for animal lovers, www.pethealthcare.co.uk providing UK pet owners with advice on pet heath concerns. Customers interested in getting a pet insurance quote can call More than on 0800 300 885 or visit www.morethan.com/pet .... | |
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