Many people do not consider life insurance until they have a family to take care of.
This is why many women leave a life insurance policy until they are pregnant or have their first child. Often the father is covered so in the event of his death or serious illness, the mortgage will be paid and a certain level of income maintained.
However, it also vital to consider the mother and the difficulties to the rest of the family should the unthinkable happen to her. If a mother falls seriously ill, or dies, the father will usually need to carry on working to bring in enough money to support his family. He will then need to pay for childcare for his children.
If he chooses the option of caring for the children himself, then there is the added stress of how to pay the mortgage and bills.
When planning a family, it is wise to consider taking out a life insurance policy before the mother is actually pregnant. Many insurance companies are reticent about allowing life cover for a woman who is already pregnant due to all the possible complications that could occur.
High blood pressure is a common complaint of pregnancy and can lead to hypertension and even toxaemia (pre-eclampsia). Thankfully not that common, but this condition can bring on fits, strokes and even death.
Already existing medical conditions can advance rapidly during pregnancy and conditions not already picked up will become more dominant and detectable.
Once a woman is pregnant, it is very difficult to get life insurance cover. Most often, companies will advise the mother to wait until her baby is three to six months old before trying to get cover. If a pregnant woman has managed to get life insurance cover she can expect to pay up to 50% more on her premiums.
Any complications recorded during pregnancy will increase the premiums when cover is available. It is always essential to be completely honest on application forms regarding medical history even though many medical conditions are only apparent during the pregnancy itself.
Gestational diabetes is one such condition and it has been known for a company not to pay out on a critical illness claim when gestational diabetes was not declared – even though it was not connected to the critical illness.
If a first pregnancy has shown signs of complications, then insurance cover whilst pregnant for a second time is unlikely.
Another reason why insurance companies are reluctant to cover expectant mothers is the risk of post natal depression immediately after the birth. Although there are no statistics concerning the suicide rate amongst post natal depression sufferers, insurers feel they are a higher risk. Insurance will not pay out in the event of a suicide anyway, so increased premiums to cover this seem a little unfair.
An added problem to trying to secure life insurance for women is that we are now seeing a new generation of higher risk pregnancies being made available by the advancements in medical technology – not always a good thing.
Pregnancy is increasingly possible in older women with IVF treatment. They are also more at risk from the complications of higher blood pressure. This treatment itself carries a high risk of multiple births, again putting a strain on the woman’s health.
The advice from insurance companies and financial advisers is to take out a life insurance policy before getting pregnant wherever possible. After the event, always be upfront in declaring medical history.
Health insurance is something almost everyone has, or strives to have. In addition, many people also get pet health insurance as well. Animals are a very important part of most families just like the rest of the family members and sometimes even more. Most people don’t realize that there are now many options out there for pet health insurance and most are much more reasonable and affordable than what we have available for ourselves.
Most pet health insurance policies cover all basic needed services such as spaying and neutering, de-worming, shots, and basic tests such as leukemia testing. Most of these pet health insurance policies offer different tiers to choose from depending on the age and specific needs of the pet. Rather than having to pay outright and break your pocket book for needed vet visits these policies enable you to make low monthly payments, and not owe anything at the time of the visit.
When checking out pet insurance reviews, going for the cheap pet insurance may or may not be the best idea depending on your pets needs. The cheapest pet insurance usually only covers the basic needs of the pet for example; vaccinations, de-worming, etc. When going through a pet insurance review make sure you get the level of coverage that is most accomodating to your needs as well.
Below is a list of the different kinds of coverage pet health insurance usually offers to aid in finding and selecting the best pet health insurance plan for your animals needs. Unfortunately pets just like people get health issues, and it’s just heart breaking when this happens and you’re not prepared or able to get your pet the help they need. Similar to our health insurance depending on the type of visit there may be added expenses that may need to be paid, but those can normally be taken care of at a later date in easier to pay monthly installments along with your pet insurance costs. This makes properly caring for your animals a lot more feasible.
When Does an Individual Not Need Pet Insurance?
This is a tricky question. For some, the cost of caring for a pet may be unjustified if the finances are above the individuals needs. In addition, some may feel that smaller pets, ie; rats, mice, frogs, etc. may not be the best canditates for pet insurance and the pet insurance cost may not be justified. This is also determined on an owner-by-owner basis and is strictly up to the pet owners discretion.
Another time when pet insurance is not needed is when a pet owner is completely capable of paying the vet bills without strain at any given moment. Many people have very healthy pets and only want to pay when the pet is sick or in need of treatment. This is completely o.k. for plenty of individuals. In general, pet insurance is for those who don’t want to pay a lump sum, but find it more affordable to pay ahead of time and be covered when the time is right.
Unfortunately there are many individuals that don’t take their pets to the vet at all. This can lead to undiagnosed illnesses, and a lower quality of health. For example, it’s very important to take your cats in for leukemia testing as it has become a common fatality among the feline society. Most kittens also require de-worming and de-fleeing which is very important to their health and development. We are offering here resources to some of the cheapest pet health insurance so that everyone can find a plan that can work for them and their pet.
The benefits for having pet insurance are abundant though unfortunately it may not be financially feasable for everyone at least it is to most. Below is an example of what a tiered plan may offer;
- Leukemia testing and shots
- de-worming
- de-fleeing
- spaying and neutering
- rabies vaccination
- heartworm testing
- fecal exam
- coronavirus vaccinations
- canine and feline distemper vaccinations
- Treatment and medication for illness
- Treatment and medication for injury
- Annual physical exam
* A plan like this would normally run you anywhere from $25 to $35 a month per pet.
This is an example of a well rounded option for a plan that includes wellness as well as continuing care and accidents which could be most important as they account for the larger bills and can never be planned for. There are also plans lower than the above. one such as this that is just strictly accidental coverage, which may be a good option for some as well that are not so much concerned with the costs of routine visits but are with the possibility of accidents. There are also of course plans higher than this as well that offer additional services to the plan, but for most this would be sufficient.