The day after thanksgiving, known as “Black Friday” in retail circles, is the most popular shopping day of the year. So be prepared to wait in line and surf through large crowds. But there’s one thing that doesn’t have to stress you out on the biggest shopping day of the year, and that’s spending money. Bankrate.com provides 5 tips for shopping success on Black Friday:

1. Do your research – Check online and in the Thanksgiving Day newspaper for coupons and deals. You can also comparison shop online. Similar to how AccuQuote compares term life insurance rates, many department stores compare consumer product deals.
2. Create a game plan – It’s best to choose a shopping destination that has multiple stores. This way you can avoid extra driving, traffic and parking. And, make sure your car is cleaned out so you have room for all of your new purchases.
3. Shop early – Karen Hoxmeier, founder and owner of MyBargainBuddy.com, suggests that shoppers remember to “go early and get done early.” You can also try shopping on Thanksgiving Day when many deals become available online up to 24 hours earlier.
4. Bring a friend – Long store lines are easier to handle when you have a friend around. Or, have one of you stand in line while the other snatches deals. It’s also suggested that the kids stay at home, as large crowds can irritate the whole family.
5. Wait for cyber Monday – The Monday after Thanksgiving weekend is one of the biggest online shopping days of the year. Many sites offer great deals and free shipping.

Happy shopping!

For money saving tips, continue checking AccuQuote’s blog, become a fan of AccuQuote on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And don’t forget to check here first to learn about the benefits of term life insurance coverage. By shopping online for free term life insurance quotes, you could save up to 70%!

The lines between heavy drinking and alcoholism are blurry at best, but when it comes to term life insurance, even a moderate drinker can have problems finding an affordable policy.

There is no doubt that heavy drinking can lead to health problems and take years off your life. Even though alcohol abuse can affect your life expectancy, insurers don’t have strict definitions for a “problem drinker” vs. an alcoholic. Underwriting is more of an art than a science when it comes to determining the risks associated with alcohol.

The first thing insurers will look at to determine if they need to worry about your alcohol use is your life insurance application. Insurers question your alcohol use on the life insurance application and, while they will rarely base their decisions solely on your answer, it can be an indicator that they should investigate further.

Life insurance applications also include questions about your medical history that insurers can use to gain insight into your alcohol use. While alcohol has the potential to damage every organ in the body, certain conditions, such as chronic inflammation of the pancreas or nonspecific liver problems, are often strongly associated with alcohol use.

If you have questions about whether or not your alcohol use will affect your life insurance rate, talk to a licensed life insurance professional at a multi-carrier brokerage firm, like AccuQuote. They will compare underwriting guidelines among the best life insurance companies and give you a free term life insurance quote based on your individual information. Inexpensive life insurance may not be hard to find!

Life insurance rescission is something that you want to avoid at all costs. What is it? It’s a legal action where your life insurance contract is declared void or canceled. This can happen if you lie or misrepresent material information on you life insurance application that directly affects your mortality and actuarial probabilities, such as lying about your age, tobacco-use or a pre-existing medical condition.

So when applying for life insurance, don’t leave anything out. By misrepresenting important information about your health and lifestyle, you risk leaving your family without the benefits of your policy when you die. For example, if you tell a life insurance carrier that you’re in prefect health, when in fact, you had a heart palpitation two years ago, that carrier can and will seek a rescission of your life insurance policy, leaving you uninsured and your family unprotected.

Following are two ways to avoid life insurance rescission:

1. Understand the difference between warranty and representation –A warranty is a promise or guarantee that a piece of information given is true. If a statement is not true, your life insurance company has the right to rescind the contract. Alternatively, a representation is a statement made by you that is relevant to the formation of the contract. Untrue Representations will cancel the contract.
2. Know your timeline – Life insurance carriers have up to two years after a contract was signed to identify a misrepresentation that occurred during the underwriting process. If a misrepresentation is recognized within two years, the carrier will rescind your life insurance policy.

The moral of the story is that you should not lie or misrepresent any information on your life insurance application. By lying, you risk leaving your family unprotected when you die. If you’re concerned about paying a higher premium due to a medical condition, don’t be. Cheap life insurance is easy to find. Talk to a licensed life insurance agent at a multi-carrier brokerage firm. They can compare underwriting guidelines among top-rated life insurance companies and give you a free term life insurance quote based on your individual circumstances. The most important thing to remember is that having some term life insurance is better than having no coverage at all.

All of us have many things to be thankful for: our family, friends, homes, health, jobs, etc. At AccuQuote, we’re passionate about showing our thanks to those who have helped us throughout the year including our employees, customers and friends. That’s why this year we’re hosting a Thanksgiving feast and a food drive for a local food pantry.

We know that many of you have plans of thanks too. That’s why we’re interested in hearing about ways that you are giving back this holiday season.

Please share your thoughts and tell us your story!

In today’s economic condition, it’s important to learn how to shop. Ok so you probably already know how to shop, but it’s important to lean how to wisely spend money. And with the vast array of products and discounts available, it’s easy to save money. Check out these five money saving tips from msn.com.

1. Make the store your last choice – Before going into shopping mode because you think you need an item, see if you can borrow it from a friend or even find it for free somewhere.
2. Negotiate when possible – Not all prices are set in stone. Before walking away with an item for full-price, see if you can negotiate a lower price.
3. Time your purchase – Don’t wait to purchase an item until you actually need it. If you do, you risk losing out on a sale or you may find yourself trying to use an expired coupon. Or see if you can get a better deal somewhere else. When it comes to newly released products, you may have to wait a while before a sale emerges.
4. Substitute – If you can’t afford an item you really want, think about substituting it for a smaller, less expensive item that has the same purpose. Also, consider giving it some time and asking yourself if you really want the item. You may find that it was just impulse thinking.
5. Expand your shopping universe – You’re probably comfortable shopping in one or two places, but you may be able to save money by shopping in places outside of your comfort zone.

Keep checking AccuQuote’s blog every Friday for more valuable money saving tips. You can also learn more about term life insurance by becoming a fan on Facebook and following us on Twitter. And be sure to shop online to get free term life insurance quotes. You may be able to save up to 70% on your term life insurance cost!

When a loved one dies, the last thing you should have to worry about is locating a lost life insurance policy. That’s why it’s important to be aware of what life insurance company issued the policy, especially if you’re the beneficiary expecting a death benefit. Otherwise, you risk losing that benefit. And if you’re the policyholder, make sure your loved ones are aware of the policy as soon as it is purchased.

Following are tips to locate a lost life insurance policy:

Find payment methods – Look for evidence of premium payments by sorting through your loved one’s financial reports. Look for canceled checks or contact their bank for copies of old checks. If your loved one wrote checks to pay their life insurance premiums, the life insurance company’s name should be written on those checks. Also, some banks sell life insurance policies to customers who own checking or savings accounts, so check with them. Additionally, you should check old credit card statements, as they may have paid their premiums by credit card.

Contact their employer – By contacting your loved one’s employer, you’ll be able to collect information regarding a group life insurance policy, if they had one.

Call brokerage firms – If your loved one purchased a life insurance policy through a life insurance brokerage firm, like AccuQuote, they will have records of the policy and what life insurance company issued it. In addition, if you’re loved one received a term life insurance quote from a brokerage firm, an agent will have information regarding their application status, policy status, etc.

After locating a policy, it’s important to make sure it’s still in force before filing a claim. First, check what type of policy it is, term or permanent. If it’s a term life insurance policy, be sure that the term length has not expired and the premium payments were paid up until death. If your loved one passed away before the policy expired, you’ll be able to receive the death benefit. Alternatively, if they died after the expiration date of the policy, you will not be able to file a claim.

If they had a permanent life insurance policy (which remains “in force” for life unless the premiums were not paid up until death), you’ll collect the death benefit once you file a claim.

For more information on locating a lost life insurance policy, contact an experienced life insurance agent at AccuQuote.

A term life insurance policy is one of the best ways to protect your family’s financial future if you were to die prematurely. However, if you have children with special needs, you need an even more comprehensive financial plan.

Many parents may be putting their children with disabilities at financial risk without even knowing it because of the demands of daily childcare. The fact is: It’s important to take the time to make a plan that will cover all of their needs when you are no longer around. Without a plan, your family could lose thousands of dollars.

Why are so many families unprepared? Children with special needs are living longer and more productive lives due to advances in medical technology. And because of this miraculous technology, children with special needs are more often outliving their parents. This means that without an adequate financial plan, the entire family could suffer, especially siblings who may be left caring for their brothers and sisters with their own out of pocket funds.

Permanent life insurance is a good choice for families in this situation because it lasts a lifetime; however, term life insurance is an adequate type of life insurance if your family is on a tight budget. Not only is it affordable life insurance, but you can choose how much and for how long you want the coverage.

Additionally, when planning for your children’s financial future, be sure to name who will care for your children if something devastating were to happen to you, and how that care will be paid for.

For more information about financial planning, and permanent and term life insurance, contact an experienced life insurance professional at AccuQuote.

Every year, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine recognizes the best insurance sites. This year, we’ve been recognized as “the best site to go for life insurance quotes and a quick way to get term-insurance rates from many top firms.”

We’re passionate about serving your term life insurance needs, which is why we’re honored to make this year’s list. We owe it to our hard-working employees and loyal customers for our continuing success.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Be sure to talk to one of our licensed agents to receive a free term life insurance quote.

Below is an excerpt from one of the letters my wife Kimberly and I have written to our loved ones, to be read in the event of our deaths. This letter is not itself a legal document – such as a will or trust – but is intended as a supplement to them. It explains how and why certain decisions were made, and also provides guidance about the intent and purpose of funds we provide and how we would like certain details carried-out.

The following section of the letter is directed to the family members specified in our wills as guardians for our two children.  The funds mentioned are term life insurance benefits paid directly to the guardians:

We expect that, in order to accommodate Audrey & Sophie (our two young daughters) into your household, you may decide to move to a larger house, or add additional living space, or make other changes to your current residence.  We are allocating $350,000 to you for this purpose (the New York City suburbs are very expensive).  A great deal of changes may be needed in order for you all to live comfortably, including larger or additional bedrooms, a larger dining table and eating area,  another bathroom, upgraded electrical or water service, etc.

It’s not important to us that Audrey & Sophie each have their own bedrooms, or that they share a bedroom – what’s important is that you talk with them about the issue and use your best judgment when making the decision.  As always, they should be treated lovingly, but no better or worse than your own children.

You may need a new, larger vehicle, either now or in the future, as well as another one six years or so later.  We are allocating $60,000 to you for this purpose, figuring that a mid-level (minivan – brand omitted) today is around $30,000.

Life throws us all a few unexpected twists and turns, so we’re allocating an additional $90,000 to you for a rainy day or opportunity, per your judgment.

The $500,000 funds above ($350k + $60k + $90k) are entirely yours, with virtually* no strings attached. For example, if your larger house, bought or built in part with the money above, sells for a ton of money sometime down the road, that does not belong to Audrey & Sophie – the sale proceeds would all belong to you, to do with as you wish.  We hope you will consider keeping the funds we provide in an account separate from your other household and business accounts, but that is your choice.

*Our only request is that you amend your wills so that in the event of your death prior to Sophie reaching age 18 that least $250,000 of the above house funds go to (Audrey & Sophie’s alternate guardian) for the same reasons the funds are going to you – to comfortably offset the expenses associated with Audrey and Sophie.  Once Sophie (our youngest) reaches age 18, feel free to amend your will(s) and allocate this money however you wish.

My next post includes the next section of this letter, outlining specific dollar amounts we provide to cover the extra day-to-day costs our guardians will incur while raising our children.

Mark Gavagan is the author of two books to help families organize their finances and get their personal affairs in order: “The It’s All Right Here Life & Affairs Organizer” and “12 Critical Things Your Family Needs To Know” .

Your life insurance policy is designed to be a critical safety net for the ones you love, so when naming a beneficiary to your term life insurance policy, it’s important to follow a few conditions in order to ensure their protection – especially because they probably depend on you for financial support.

Following are three factors to consider when naming your life insurance beneficiary:

1. It’s important to name a “contingent,” also known as a secondary beneficiary. This will ensure that someone receives the death benefit if you outlive the first beneficiary.
2. Name a specific beneficiary, rather than having all of the proceeds paid directly to your estate. By naming a specific family member, such as a spouse or child, the proceeds will be paid to them immediately. If the proceeds are made payable to your estate, they will have to go through probate with the rest of your assets.
3. Be extremely specific when naming your life insurance beneficiary. For example, saying “wife of the insured” could be confused for an ex-wife, resulting in her receiving the proceeds instead of your current spouse. To prevent this from happening, it’s important to change the beneficiary designation on your policy. It’s a quick an easy process.

If you have questions about naming a beneficiary to your life insurance policy and what steps you need to take, contact an experienced life insurance agent at AccuQuote. They’ll help you through the process and make sure you leave your loved ones with an adequate amount of protection. Remember, AccuQuote provides free life insurance quotes and can help you save on your term life insurance cost.