06/10/2012

LIFE ALERT VS. JUST5


Personal emergency response is a growing industry that is becoming more and more popular over the years. Having a emergency response system on hand or in your home is becoming more convenient and affordable than putting our loved ones in a nursing home, or employing an in home nurse. So when shopping for your alert system, what are some things to consider? Of course the most important thing to consider is dependability for the safety of our loved ones, but we also consider cost, terms and convenience as well. And we compare it to other options. We would like to think "when it comes to mom and dad money is no object" but it is nice to get the same convenient features for a much cheeper cost.


LIFE ALERT


Life Alert is a personal emergency response system and medical alert system designed to assist individuals in the event of an emergency.


JUST5


Just5 is a personal emergency response system and medical alert system designed to assist individuals in the event of an emergency.


SO WHATS THE DIFFERENCE?


What makes the products unique is what puts them in the same work field. They manage to have the same functions in general except the cost is much different due to the extra features one may offer. This article will review the differences as well as the similarities that the two offer and leave you to make your decision on which would suit your loved ones better.


COST & FEES

Just like all necessities, there comes a cost with them. When on hand medical response is a necessity it is going to cost some money. Just how much money it is going to cost depends on you, your budget and your research.

Life Alert offers an in home emergency response system for seniors that can be accessed by the touch of an SOS button. It's very easy to use and can help in any emergency situation at home. The emergency response goes to their call center where their staff gets ahold of whatever type of assistance you require. Set up & enrollment prices range from around 200.00 up to 295.00. Customers are shipped the setup equipment and are able to set up their equipment by following the instructions sent along with the package. From the research done, I found that Life Alert can have a professional installation specialist sent to your home to install the equipment for an extra small fee. Life Alerts system includes the console and the life alert pendant. Other options can be purchased for a separate cost. Their other options include a 911 only cell phone, smoke and other toxin detectors, you can even add on a emergency response system to your personal cell phone (but if for child, child needs to be at least 16 years of age) in case you are out and about and in need of assistance. All these things are nice luxuries but will cost extra, just how much extra wasn't disclosed but it will be more than their 49.95 monthly service charge that Life Alert has set for their monthly service price. Unfortunately there is no discount for advance payment though, so monthly payments can not be done in bulk.

Just5 is a lot like the Life Alert system. It is a personal emergency response cell phone with simple features and large buttons that has an SOS button on it as well that can be accessed anytime, whether at home or out running errands, to seek assistance. It is simple to set up and use, you can personalize the SOS button any way you choose. It can store up to five emergency contacts, you can input your number, a spouse, a neighbor, a daughter, a doctor, or even 911, when the SOS button is pressed the first thing it does is start the alarm to draw attention, this is in case anyone is around, they can hear the alarm and come to assist, the system then automatically sends out a text message to the five contacts saying "I am in need of assistance, answer your phone!", next, the phone starts auto dialing the five contacts in order until someone answers to help. The phone itself is 89.99. Its components include the cell phone, a long lasting battery (only needs to be charged every six days if in standby mode), a wall charger, a head set, and a SIM card that can be set up with a prepaid calling plan. The phone can be set up, as I mentioned, with Just5's prepaid calling plans they have through Red Pocket Mobile, or they can be used with your existing T-Mobile or AT&T calling plan so it wont cost you any extra money. Monthly service fees depend on the customer, you can pay $10 a month for 67 minutes, or $39.99 for unlimited talk and text a month, keep in mind, the Just5 is not just for emergencies, the emergency feature is included and is not extra, it is one of the functions of the phone. There are discounts on advance payments, you can purchase 1,000 minutes for $100 and that would cover your air time for an entire year, it not only costs about $1.70 less than the $10 monthly plan, they also give you more minutes to use. If you already have or choose to go with your current carrier you can simply insert your SIM card and it will be ready to use. There is no age restriction on the phone so it can be used for an elderly loved one that needs the security of having someone on call or for a new teen needing a cell pine for after school.

RESTRICTIONS, POLICIES & THINGS TO CONSIDER

Life Alert provides their service under a service agreement of 3 years. This obligates it's customers to a total of no less than $2,000.00. Customers are able to cancel their order at any time within 24 hours of their purchase and get a refund. Service can be cancelled if 24 hour care is required by the elderly individual and they can no longer stay in there home (meaning they need to go to a caring facility). Life Alert will also allow you to cancel the service without charge if the person under care dies alone in the house. I'm not sure what the charges would be if the person person passed away in general.

As for Just5, their services are without contract. You're initial purchase of the phone makes it yours and there is no obligation to use their prepaid service that they offer or make any monthly, or annual payments to Just5. Their prepaid services, as well as their monthly services are through Red Pocket Mobile, a prepaid phone service operating off of the towers of AT&T, so coverage is very good. There is no obligation to commit to if you wanted to use the phone service and you can cancel at anytime. Other options include using prepaid service through T Mobile or a monthly service plan set up through AT&T. If you choose to stop using the Just5, you can either store it away and use it again when you choose to or you can give it to a family member for use.

Both products are great at what they do, providing security, comfort and safety, the only question is how much are you willing to pay and if you can save, why not save?