Life Alert Medical Alert Systems Review (Cost, Problems, Pros, and Cons)
The following Life Alert review, provided by medical alert systems expert – Ali Naheed – will help you understand where this medical alert system stacks up compared to its competition.
The company is well-known for its viral TV commercial that advertises the Life Alert medical alert system. In the commercial, an elderly female seems confused and then suddenly falls. She presses the Life Alert medical device button and says, “Help, I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.”
It’s a memorable commercial. The unexpected humor in the commercial even made it a universal punchline for many comedic acts.
The Life Alert Meme
However, is Life Alert’s medical alert system a legitimate product? And how does it work?
There is much to like about Life Alert medical alert systems. However, you should also be aware of some disadvantages to this company’s products that we’ll discuss in the following review. In addition, details about Life Alert’s customer service quality, online complaints, product features, and pricing will all get revealed.
What is Life Alert and How Does it Work?
Life Alert is a personal emergency response and home medical alert systems company. They offer various products, including a quarter-sized, two-way communication medical alert device that can be worn as a necklace or bracelet. The Life Alert medical alert system can protect people with disabilities and older adults by alerting professional help if there is an emergency or health-related accident.
In a medical, fire, or home invasion emergency, users only need to press a button to alert the monitoring center. When the monitoring center receives the alert, they will attempt to communicate with the user through the base station or the wearable device, assess the situation, and determine the appropriate response.
Life Alert’s BBB profile will show you this company has been in business for forty-five years and is A+ rated, making them one of the oldest and most trustworthy companies in this industry. Life Alert’s positive customer reviews for 2023 even helped the company land on the top 10 best medical alert systems list for 2023.
Life Alert is one of the largest medical alert companies in the nation and size matters because think about it, how can a small company quickly respond to emergencies nationwide? According to ZoomInfo, Life Alert Emergency Response has 600 employees. That explains why inside so many Life Alert customer reviews online; people rave about Life Alert’s fast response to emergencies.
Pros
Experience and Time in Business: Life Alert has been in business for at least 45 years and has a long-standing reputation in the industry.
Top Ratings: Life Alert has garnered top ratings from Consumer Affairs, The Monitoring Association (TMA), and Better Business Bureau (BBB). Life Alert is also UL-certified for safety.
24/7 Monitoring and Multiple Ways to Get Help: Life Alert medical alert systems offer 24/7 emergency monitoring services, providing customers and their loved ones peace of mind.
Full Range of Solutions: Life Alert medical alert devices include in-home systems, mobile GPS units, and personal protection, so customers can choose the solution that best fits their needs, whether inside or outside their homes.
Batteries Last up to 10 Years: Life Alert’s website states, “Batteries never need charging and last up to 10 years.” See more details below.
Waterproof Help Buttons: Life Alert’s waterproof help buttons are ideal for bathrooms, including in the shower.
Cons
Pricing: Limited information about the company’s pricing can make it difficult for potential customers to compare their services with those of other providers. There is a start-up fee that ranges from $95 to $198. Additionally, Life Alert’s cost is around $20 to $30/mo higher than the average medical alert systems package pricing from other companies.
Buying Life Alert devices: Another potential con for Life Alert is that customers cannot order their products online and must instead reach out to a salesperson to make a purchase. Many consumers prefer to purchase online and don’t want to speak with a salesperson.
Long-Term Contract: Life Alert requires a 3-year contract commitment.
No Free Trial: Many of the top-rated medical alert systems companies do offer a free trial, including GetSafe.
Additional details about Life Alert Pros
One of the main product pros for Life Alert is their commitment to providing cutting-edge technology to help customers stay safe and secure. They offer a range of protection packages that are designed to suit different lifestyles and ages, whether the customer is at home or on the go.
One of their company claims is that they are the only company that has proven to save a life from a catastrophe every 11 minutes and to extend the lives of their members in their own homes by 5 years longer than the general population. They also claim that since 2008, they have saved over 500,000 lives from catastrophes.
Life Alert’s monitoring centers are staffed with medical experts and trained professionals, ready to take calls and assist people in almost any location. In addition, they’ve aligned themselves with licensed healthcare providers, including medical professionals and emergency responders that can quickly arrive at nearly every location in the United States to provide emergency help when needed.
Having built this type of infrastructure with such a broad reach to assist their customers in almost every location in the United States is a competitive advantage that Life Alert has over many other companies that offer medical alert systems. Life Alert’s customer service team can confirm whether or not they serve your specific location, but most likely, they can.
Life Alert has garnered top ratings from reputable organizations such as Consumer Affairs and The Monitoring Association (TMA) and is UL-certified for safety.
Additional details about Life Alert Cons
Some cons of using Life Alert include the high cost, the long-term contract commitment, and the fact that potential customers cannot order their products online and must instead call a salesperson to place an order. It’s an inconvenience having to call in to order its products for people who prefer to research and purchase products online. Many consumers are accustomed to shopping online, where they get to read consumer reviews and easily compare their options, and then check out inside a secure payment gateway that uses data encryption protection.
And when it comes to “the cost”, Life Alert is much more expensive than most of its competitors. And to make matters worse, Life Alert’s contract length is a minimum of three years. Some of Life Alert’s competitors also include contracts of some form, but typically for less than three years.
Additionally, the website is outdated, making it difficult to find information, including the prices to purchase Life Alert medical alert devices. While Life Alert is one of the oldest and most established brands in the medical alert systems industry, we recommend shopping around and comparing all your options.
Life Alert Customer Service Support
Life Alert’s customer service department offers to assist its customers in multiple ways, including;
- Call the Life Alert customer service hotline at 1-800-982-0332. Highly trained customer service representatives are available 24/7.
- Contact Life Alert online by filling out their contact form on their website at www.lifealert.com/contact-us. You must provide your name, email address, phone number, and a brief message describing your need.
- Check out the Life Alert Frequently Asked Questions page at www.LifeAlert.com/faq. You can find information about their products, services, and policies here.
Life Alert Emergency Response has over 450 customer reviews at Consumer Affairs.com with a perfect 5.0/5 Star-Rating. Customer reviews often illustrate satisfied customers due to the exceptional and fast response they received from Life Alert’s emergency service team.
Recent Life Alert reviews from Consumer Affairs
- “I fell out of bed and couldn’t get back in! When I pushed the button for Life Alert, the police showed up immediately, and the officer put me right back in!”
- “My 85-year-old mother fell in the middle of the night, and I could not get her off the floor. Life Alert responded immediately, and EMS arrived a few minutes later.”
- “I fell in my bathroom and could not get up. Life Alert responded quickly and helped me.”
Disclosure: These Life Alert customer reviews received minor editing only to improve the grammar and make them easier to understand. Visit Consumer Affairs to read the exact wording of these Life Alert reviews.
Life Alert Complaints and Life Alert BBB
Life Alert BBB Rating, Accreditation, and Reviews:
Life Alert’s average customer review rating is 3.41/5 stars at the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Life Alert also has a BBB rating of A+ and is accredited. They have been accredited with the BBB since 10/22/1987.
Life Alert Complaints:
Some customer complaints about Life Alert are related to billing and product issues. However, the company appears to be responsive to complaints and has rectified many problems to satisfy customers; they settled 172 complaints in the last three years, with 76 complaints closed during the previous 12 months.
Before Purchasing a Life Alert Medical Alert System –
- Carefully review your contract for all fees related to the Life Alert medical alert system.
- Review customer reviews on BBB, Consumer Affairs, SeniorLiving.org, and Reddit – all credible sources to check for customer reviews. Life Alert reviews on Google Shopping may also be helpful to analyze.
- And then, before purchasing a device, ask lots of questions. Email your sales representative your questions so that you can get answers to your questions in writing (i.e., documented in an email). You can then hold them accountable if, in the future, something turns out other than how they explained it to you.
Life Alert Replacement Parts
Contact a Life Alert customer service representative if something is not working on your Life Alert medical alert device. They will try to do some basic troubleshooting over the phone at first.
If Life Alert concludes that a part is damaged due to normal usage, a manufacturing defect, or malfunction, they will send you a replacement part for no additional cost. On the other hand, if they can’t figure out the problem over the phone, they may schedule a technician to come to your property and further diagnose the issue.
Life Alert’s medical alert equipment has a limited lifetime warranty. However, the Life Alert warranty does not cover damage caused by misuse, abuse, or accidental damage, such as if the equipment falls on the ground and breaks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Life Alert a good company?
Is Life Alert medical alert systems legit?
How do Life Alert medical alert systems work?
Which is better, Life Alert or Philips Lifeline medical alert systems?
Which is Better, Life Alert or Medical Guardian?
How much do Life Alert medical alert systems cost per month?
Is Life Alert medical alert systems covered by Medicare?
Where to buy Life Alert systems?
Does the Life Alert medical alert system offer a 30-day risk-free trial?
How to Contact Life Alert?
Naheed Ali, MD, Ph.D., is a physician by education and a writer by choice since 2005. He earned an MD degree in 2008 and later completed Harvard Medical School's lifestyle medicine training in 2012, before obtaining a Ph.D. in holistic health elsewhere in 2013. He’s also certified in clinical research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
For years, Dr. Ali taught at colleges in the US where he lectured on various biomedical topics and delivered over 2000 hours of live presentations. He is also the author of numerous books from major New York publishers. They can be found on the shelves of 1000s of libraries worldwide. He brings more than 15 years of experience writing remotely and has more than 15 years of health-related publications to his credit. Now a digital nomad, he’s currently a medical journalist and copywriter for hire. His online home is HealthcarePropulsion.com.
Doctor Naheed Ali
Last Updated: September 2, 2023
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