Stemming from the desire for independence and reluctance to recognize their increasing frailty, seniors are often resistant to the idea of owning a medical alert device. However, for older people living at home alone and unmonitored, an emergency button for the elderly may mean the difference between life and death.
One of the most popular medical alert systems is Life Alert, known for its 90’s slogan: “Help! I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!” Yet popularity doesn’t always mean quality. The competition is intense, and there are many worthwhile Life Alert alternatives to consider. However, each service’s features need to be closely analyzed to see whether it’s appropriate for your needs before making a commitment.
Why Is Life Alert So Popular?
Life Alert’s success and popularity aren’t news to anyone. Its ad campaigns, product placements, and memorable commercials featuring scenarios of seniors in distress using a life alert button have become a part of popular culture. Plus, with more than three decades of medical alert systems industry expertise, the brand has established its name and is seen as credible and trustworthy.
Nonetheless, when laid out alongside its competitors, Life Alert falls short in some respects. It’s expensive and doesn’t include a free trial, money-back guarantee, or automatic fall detection. It has an obligatory minimum 3-year contract and charges high cancellation fees. Luckily, many Life Alert alternatives are now upping the stakes with better deals and features.
How To Cancel Life Alert
Whether it’s because of poor signal range or a lack of features – there are many reasons why seniors may want to cancel their Life Alert subscription. However, this is not an easy task. Its lengthy minimum contract can only be canceled if the user passes away or is relocated to a nursing facility.
Even then, there are penalty fees depending on the subscription that can go up to $200. Unfortunately, none of this information is available on Life Alert’s website, implying poor transparency. The only way to request the termination of a Life Alert contract is by calling the company directly.
Criteria for Evaluating Alternatives
There are plenty of medical alert systems to choose from, and while most of them share core features like emergency response or 24/7 assistance, it’s essential to delve deeper into the product. To make sure we found the best Life Alert system alternative, we established the following set of criteria:
- Pricing: We reviewed the providers’ pricing options, including the price-quality ratio, available discounts, ways to test the software risk free, and whether there were any hidden fees to be concerned about.
- Monitoring equipment: We assessed the range of monitoring equipment offered by the medical alert system companies, as well as their performance. This includes both in-home and on-the-go systems, extra devices like smoke alarms, and smartwatches.
- Monitoring services: In addition to ensuring the monitoring services work around the clock, we also kept in mind companies whose care agents are available even for non-urgent situations.
- Ease of use: It’s essential that the system and equipment are easy to set up and operate.
- Extra features: We took into consideration the services that provide extra features, such as a caregiver app, fall detection, and medication reminders, to get the best care experience possible.
- Customer service: We went through the companies’ customer service to check that users have an easy and fast way to reach the company with any issues that go beyond emergencies.
Taking these points into consideration will result not only in a comprehensive evaluation of a life alert system but also in helping discover any extras that can enhance the quality of service. So, we highly recommend to following the same list of criteria when shopping for a medical alert system. Of course, you should personalize it to cater to your needs.
Best 5 Life Alert Alternatives of 2024
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Medical Guardian
While it doesn’t provide carbon monoxide or smoke detectors, it includes fall detection, activity and medication monitoring, a lifetime price guarantee, extensive customer support, a smartwatch, and much more. Moreover, Medical Guardian lets users choose between affordable monthly, quarterly, and annual subscription plans. Customers can also cancel their subscription at any time, which contrasts dramatically with Life Alert’s cancellation policy.
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Bay Alarm Medical
When comparing Bay Alarm Medical to Life Alert, we see the latter falls short. Bay Alarm Medical offers a much better price-to-quality ratio and includes a 30-day free trial. It provides wearable medical alert buttons, a smartwatch, assistance in over 170 languages, an in-car alert system that is like a fall alert system but for crashes, and numerous other features. Additionally, while a Life Alert subscription covers solely one customer, Bay Alarm Medical provides coverage to the user’s partner or family member with a free spouse monitoring service.
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MobileHelp
MobileHelp provides activity tracking and medication reminders. It also includes waterproof fall detection equipment, advanced in-home tablet devices, a lockbox, and more. Contrasting with Life Alert’s limited payment options, MobileHelp has options for monthly, quarterly, semiannual, and annual billing cycles, no hidden fees, and free shipping. The medical alert service offers a mobile app and a 30-day risk-free trial.
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Medical Alert
This low price can only be obtained by subscribing to its yearly plan. Plus, unlike Life Alert, this plan may be canceled anytime without a fee and even includes a 30-day money-back guarantee. Medical Alert has an intuitive free mobile app with features like location tracking, real-time notifications, and device status. By offering all these bundled with SOS pendants and necklaces, Medical Alert leaves Life Alert trailing in its wake.
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LifeFone
Along with fall detection, free spouse monitoring, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and no activation fees, LifeFone provides an alternative medical alert device – the Safe Watch Active. This GPS-based smartwatch has all the bells and whistles to keep seniors safe. Not to mention the VIPx Caregiver Mobile App that provides location tracking and caregiver notifications. LifeFone’s affordability and abundance of features make it highly cost-effective, edging Life Alert out of the competition.
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In the End, Which One Is the Best Life Alert Alternative?
When shopping for jeans, you would never choose the one-size-fits-all pair. Instead, you would likely hunt for your size and style to ensure you buy the most comfortable and affordable option. The same approach should be taken when selecting a medical alert system for seniors.
Research is an essential part of this process, and there is a wide variety of personal emergency response systems out there that can be perfect for any kind of user and their health condition. We recommend that you try out some of the free trials and promotions offered by these Life Alert alternatives, which will help you get one step closer to finding the most suitable solution for your specific needs.
Best Medical Alert Systems of 2024
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Editor's Choice 2024 |
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