I would have to disagree with the post that included "Scam beware Cancer Insurance Family Heritage"... "This cancer insurance is a scam."..."...You are much better off not buying this insurance. Put this money in a bank or invest it. You get the interest and get all the money if you can't fund your bank account after 7 years or whenever. Change your diet, exercise and minimize your risk to cancer. Even if your a compulsive smoker. work in an asbestos factory and drink out of styrofoam cups... Don't get this policy, they payout is not worth the premiums. This insurance company is all about screwing you out of your money." My mother in law who has always been pretty healthy (or so we thought), began her policy with Family Heritage in Oct 2010. She was over age 55 so her premiums were kind of high (I thought). With the highest paying cancer coverage, her monthly premium was $108/month. On Dec 17, 2010, she was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer (stage IV) with metastisis. She passed away Oct 27, 2011. From December 2010 to May 2011, she had already received over $30,000 in payments from Family Heritage, and we are awaiting the final payment for the May through Oct (expecting atleast another $17,000). If you are at risk for cancer, it is a good idea! And I know that $47,000 is not much considering the bills for chemo, hospital stays, icu, doctors, etc; but, if you are lucky -as my mother in law was- you will have very good health insurance that covers all of those bills except for office co-pays after your deductible has been met each year. So all of that was hers. Also, if a person dies within the 25 years, the beneficiary receives the life insurance that goes with the policy. So if you pay on it 5 years, don't use it, then pass away, the beneficiary gets the life insurance. However, as in the case of my mother in law, since they paid her well more than the life insurance, her beneficiary did not receive the life insurance. Also, if she had been paid $3,000 from the company, the life insurance amount would have been reduced by the amount paid out. For example: 15,000 life ins -3,000 cancer ins paid to insured= 12,000 life ins payout to beneficiary. Not everyones going to have the same situation (otherwise they would go bankrupt), but I do know that this is what she benefited from her policy and her kids did as well. We got a policy for ourselves as well!

After you start receiving Medicare, most suppliments do the same thing. They pick up the balance after Medicare APPROVES and pays 80% of the approved amount. That is to say, the suppliment pays the remaining 20%. There is no additional charge to the patient. I doubt if you will be able to get a decent policy that pays just hospital bills. The usual thing is for all medical expenses, including physicians. Example: The doctor or hospital charges $100.00 for a procedure. Medicare APPROVES $50.00 and pays 80% of 50, ($40.00), the suppliment then pays the 10.00 balance and you owe nothing. If the procedure is something that Medicare will not pay for, you must be told in advance or you own nothing. Now, some suppliments will pay for the $100.00 per year deductible, others do not. The difference in premium price is more that enough to pay for the decuctible yourself. Most group policies, such as your husband's will change benefits when an employee reaches retirement age..So will any suppliment that you buy now. Any suppliment you buy now, will probably either be expensive or will also change once you start receiving Medicare. The AARP is a good Medicare suppliment policy. Most of the companies such as BC/BS have also have one. Don't waste your money getting one that pays for really special stuff like organ transplants as you probably would not ever need that sort of coverage. Be sure to get a policy that allows you to pick your own doctor. The HMO type coverage that restricts you to certain doctors or hospitals is not always a good idea. It may cost a little more, but it is worth it. PB

Calliope's advice about the legal ramifications of disclosure is very sound. If insurance companies in your area do not have clauses exempting pit bulls and pb mixes from coverage, then it is not an issue right now. However, an increasing number of insurance companies are adding such exemptions to their home owner policies. Also, in answer to your query, most insurance companies and courts will not accept dna breed identification as proof. Forewarned is forearmed. If you disclose that your dog was represented to you as being part pitbull by the adoption group (who probably did so to avoid liability), and your insurance contains such an exemption clause, and your dog bites someone (even a playful nip) and you are sued as a result, you could be in a world of financial hurt. If you do not disclose this, and you are found out, you might be in worse trouble. Calliope was simply providing you with hard legal and economic facts. Your dog doesn't look much like a pit bull to me. If you had called him a lab/boxer mix or a mutt of unknown heritage from the start, and told everyone that you got him from an ad on Craig's list, you would have a far better chance of erasing the alleged ancestry told you second hand by the rescue people. Unfortunately however you have told people, perhaps insurance agents among them, and posted this information here on the internet. It might seem like "nothing" but if you were facing a lawsuit asking for a 10,000 dollar damage payment, insurance companies will leave no stone unturned to discover whether your dog is an exempted breed to avoid paying. Such a lawsuit could result in your dog being declared dangerous and ordered to be put down. This might seem an extreme circumstance but sadly these type of lawsuits are becoming increasingly common. I would qualify Calliope's statement that if you cannot prove or disprove your dog's ancestry, that you might as well not have insurance at all, would only apply to liability incurred by your dog's actions. Homeowner's insurance is still a necessity for all other eventualities, including non-dog-related liability claims such as a visitor slipping and falling on your steps. I'm sure that's what Calliope meant, in any case. This post was edited by spedigrees on Fri, Nov 8, 13 at 18:21

Sorry to hear about your trouble, Prettealady. Your story is more common than you know. I'm an insurance agent (since 1977) and it's very rare that I find condo/co-op policy that's written correctly. Most agents insure them like tenants policies, focusing on the personal property coverage (contents) and pay little or no attention to the dwelling or building limit, leaving most insureds gravely underinsured. Anyone paying (depending on area) less than $200 for condo insurance is likely underinsured. Your options are to complain to State Farm (not the agent), your State's insurance dept, and lastly, to sue. Agents carry E&O insurance that covers Errors & Omissions. I don't know all the facts, but on the surface, it appears your agent let you down. Good luck, Kevin