Saving You Money For Life

Looking for affordable term life insurance?  Here’s a warning for online life insurance shoppers:  the industry’s great low life insurance rates may not be available to you if you can’t meet the underwriting guidelines.  Instead, you should use the Internet to learn benchmark life insurance rates and for research – then call the quote service and ask.

Remember, life insurance companies reserve the lowest rates for the healthiest people.  And it’s not just your medical condition that’s under scrutiny.  Insurers want to know about your parents and siblings too. In addition, they want to know if you have:  high cholesterol?  heart disease?  use tobacco?  Participate in risky hobbies (scuba, skydiving, private pilot)?  weight?  medications? foreign travel? income? bankruptcy filings? driving record?

Even a speeding ticket could mean a higher rate.  There are so many factors to consider, that’s why we recommend speaking with an agent who knows the underwriting guidelines for a wide range of companies.

If you’re shopping online for life insurance, here are some money-saving tips:

-          Find a Web site that asks detailed questions. Steer clear of sites asking only about your height/weight, age, gender, state of residence and smoking status.

-          Be truthful about your medical history. The life insurance quote is only as good as the information collected so there is no need try and misrepresent yourself.

-          The lowest price may not represent the best value. Life insurance is not a commodity product and one size doesn’t fit all. There are significant differences in quality and product design.

-          Shop for top-rated life insurance companies. Life insurance companies are rated on financial stability.  Look for a rating of A or better.  Check independent rating services such as A.M. Best or Moody’s, found online or in the library.

-         Look for a Phone Number. Bargain hunters may like the Internet’s speed, but the truth is not everyone can qualify for the industry’s rock bottom life insurance rates.  Call and ask what’s best for you.

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February 26, 2009

How to claim a death benefit

Description:

The death of a loved one is hard. No one likes to think about it. But you should be prepared on what to expect when beginning the life insurance claims process.  Byron Udell, a life insurance and annuity industry expert, is here today to provide you with the information you need to know when claiming a death benefit of a loved one.

Size: 5.48 MB

Length: 5:59

Click here to download

Tags: AccuQuote, Podcasts
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A life insurance policy is one of those things you should really have, but you shouldn’t have to pay a lot for it.  Simply use the internet to find out the insurance rates that are available. You can see which offer will help you save more money and still provide the coverage you desire.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking there is such a thing as having too much life insurance.  In fact, the average adult American only has about 2.5x’s their annual income. Experts recommend at least 10. This means that Americans are grossly underinsured!

Every situation is unique. Your need will be determined by your individual situation. There are ways to calculate how much the optimum insurance coverage for your family is. To do so, first ask yourself why you are purchasing a policy. If you are young parents or newly married, you would need a different type of policy than if you are nearing retirement age and your children are well settled. In both cases however, you need to take the following factors into consideration when determining the amount you need to be covered for – mortgages, any loans or debts, educational loans for your children, estate taxes, funeral expenses, financial support for your family or spouse in your absence, and even a retirement fund for your spouse. Use a life insurance calculator to help you assess your life insurance coverage using these same factors and including inflation as well.

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There are several steps you should take in order to find the best life insurance quote online.  These steps include:

• Find a good website that deals with the best life insurance companies – Find a website that deals with multiple life insurance carriers rated A or better by A.M Best.
• Get all the necessary facts ready – After you have chosen an insurance company from which to receive your insurance quote, you are required to provide lifestyle and health information. Be as truthful as possible while providing this data. Answer the questions to the best of your knowledge and ability and you are sure to get the best possible quotes for you.
• Ensure the presence of contact information – Make sure that you are dealing with a company that has a legitimate address and contact details. Although there is a minimal chance that you may need to contact them, the present of contact information still establishes the credibility and authenticity of the insurance company in a large way.

Keep in mind that the Internet has websites like www.AccuQuote.com that can offer you quotations from databases of thousands of products available in the market today. They will take into consideration factors such as heath, lifestyle, age, and sex and determine the most affordable options for you. And most importantly they are rarely owned or operated by a particular insurance company, giving them no reason to push certain products over others. Make the most of such online resources and secure your family’s future today.

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I believe that doing your homework is important when it comes to shopping, but it’s especially critical to educate yourself when deciding what type of life insurance to buy. It’s not a one size fits all product. Remember, if you make the wrong decision you may end up putting your family’s financial future at risk.

So how does one differentiate between permanent and term life insurance.  Permanent policies have level premiums for life and provide a savings element that builds cash.  A term life insurance policy has no cash value and the premium is paid each year to cover the risk of death that year.

I recommend term life insurance for most cases. Be sure to take the cost, coverage and convertibility into to consideration when identifying which type of life insurance is best for you.

Remember that the premiums for permanent life are usually much higher than term life insurance policies, but they remain constant during the lifetime of the insured.  In addition, keep in mind the fact that you should opt for a policy that has a death benefit large enough to cover the needs of one’s family. If you choose a permanent policy and can’t afford a death benefit equal to at least 10 times your annual salary, then you should opt for term.  The goal of life insurance first and foremost is to replace your income if something should happen to you. If you can’t afford a permanent policy today, opt for a cheap term life insurance policy that allows you the option to convert into a permanent policy at a later date.

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Buying a life insurance policy for your child is a personal decision. Don’t let a life insurance agent talk you into, or for that matter out of, buying a policy.

Let’s take a look at the three reasons to buy it:

1.       Death benefit – If the child dies, the policy will pay to cover a funeral.

2.       Future insurability – Take out a life insurance policy when your kids are young and if in the future they develop a chronic illness they won’t face the possibility of being denied life insurance.

3.       Savings component – Part of your life insurance premium is set aside and invested. The accumulated value can be borrowed or withdrawn at any time.

Now, let’s look at some reason’s not to buy it:

1.       Death benefit – Let’s remember the key benefit of life insurance is the death benefit.  There’s a greater chance for the breadwinner to die and that’s way more financially crippling for a family.  Most adult life insurance policies also offer a child rider.  These cost roughly $60 a year and provide a death benefit of about $10,000, enough to cover funeral and burial costs.

2.       Future insurability – With advanced technology in the medical field these days, there are now life insurance policies available for adults with chronic ailments that weren’t available 10 years ago.

3.       Savings component – Accounts get hit with fees and tend to grow slowly. A better plan would be to insure the breadwinners to the max.  Save for college with mutual funds or tax-deferred investments that can really grow.

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Many people ask me if they should be shopping for a more affordable term life insurance policy. The answer is ABSOLUTELY. Here’s why…Term life insurance rates have dropped dramatically since 1994. For instance, in 1994 the lowest available rate for a healthy 40 year old man (20 year term policy with a $500,000 death benefit) was $995 per year. Today, that same policy is $350 annually.

When you begin shopping for a cheap life insurance policy, be cautious.  Before replacing an existing term life policy make sure you consider the following categories:

• Price
• Guarantee Periods
• Convertibility
• Financial Strength of the insurance companies
• Available riders

Also, remember, that when you start a new term policy, a new contestability period also starts (usually the first 2 years). Most importantly, DO NOT CANCEL, any existing coverage until the new policy has been approved and paid for.

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A recent article by Linda Stern (Reuters) suggested several smart ways to save money.  Now, in honor of full disclosure, AccuQuote was mentioned in this article, but I really thought her other ideas to save money were well worth sharing with you.

Linda Stern’s smart ways to save money now:

– Crunch all of your communications costs. Prepare ahead of time for when your cell phone contract expires, by getting quotes from all competitors. You can save money here if you really have to by using pre-loaded phones, skype.com for long-distance calls, and phones that are a generation or two removed from the latest and greatest. Check recommendations at billshrink.com to see which carrier would cost you the least in your neighborhood.

– Re-shop all of your insurance. The cost of term life insurance has actually dropped in recent years, so if you’re sitting on old policies, look around to replace them with newer, better ones. Shop at insure.com and accuquote.com.

Check your auto insurance against rates at insweb.com, geico.com and progressive.com. If you want to keep the policy you have, call your insurer to see whether you qualify for any discounts (such as those for getting good grades or having a safe driving history) that you don’t know about. Whenever possible, increase your deductibles. It will bring your monthly premiums down. The purpose of insurance is not to cover your first dollar of expenses, it is to protect you from the catastrophe you can’t afford.

– Embrace coupons, but not too emphatically. You really can save money on groceries by doing things like combining manufacturers’ coupons with sales and shopping at stores that offer double and triple coupon promotions. Look at websites like retailmenot.com and hotcouponworld.com for the latest coupons, and at thegrocerygame.com to put it together with your own local store sales. Go to the websites of your local groceries to check the weekly sales before you head out to do your shopping. But don’t go overboard. If couponing starts to cost you hours that could be used more productively in other ways, or causes you to start buying more and more expensive processed foods, step away from the scissors.

– Make the most of credit card deals. The Amex card I use is one of many. If you’re paying interest on card balances now, use indexcreditcards.com to find a good new card that will let you transfer the balance and save money. One at the top of its list now is the State Farm Good Neighbor Credit Card, which has no balance transfer fee for the first 90 days and a 0 percent rate for 9 billing cycles. If you’re not already shopping with a good cash-rebate card, look for one of those too.

– Put some effort into comparison shopping your big ticket items. Car shoppers save money by getting online quotes before they go to the showroom, and so do folks who shop online before they go to stores. Try dodtracker.com, pricegrabber.com and beatmyprice.com as starting points for most consumer goods.

Register any airlines tickets you buy at yapta.com; it will notify you if prices drop enough for you to request an adjustment on your fare.

– Save on gas. Even though oil prices have dropped, it still helps to save every bit you can when you fill your tank. Two websites to check for the cheapest prices in your neighborhood are gasbuddy.com, and gasprices.mapquest.com/ Or you could just go back to Costco, which has low pump prices at the warehouses which offer gas. But remember not to spend an additional $300 on miscellany just because you’re there filling up your tank.

That would defeat the whole money-saving point.

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You need to understand that when comparing term life insurance rates, even if you’re in excellent health, there is a good chance you won’t qualify for the lowest term life insurance rate. In fact, only 5%-40% of all applicants get this “preferred-plus” term life insurance rate. Typically, about 60% can qualify for the regular “preferred” term life insurance rate. The rest fall into the “standard” category, or worse.

When reviewing these rate classes, it’s important to remember that the qualifications for obtaining these rate classes varies from one life insurance company to another.

Preferred Plus -In order to qualify for this life insurance rate you cannot use any tobacco and must not have a history of drug or alcohol abuse. According to life insurance companies, this rate class is for the healthiest people.

Preferred Rate – Generally, you must be in excellent overall health.  You cannot participate in hazardous activities and have not history of drug or alcohol abuse.

Standard – People that qualify for standard rates may have some minor health impairments.  For instance, their cholesterol may be a little high or they may be a little overweight.

Substandard – Substandard risks refer to the rest of the people that still can qualify for a life insurance policy, but at a much higher rate because their risk of death is increased dramatically.

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