Top 10 Life Insurance Purchasing Tips

Who doesn’t love a Top 10 List? Especially when it can save you substantial amounts of money and help you protect your family against financial disaster!

Here are the Ten, count ‘em, TEN, top tips on WHY and HOW you should shop for the best in life insurance value.  Think of it as a “T-minus-10 countdown” to your family’s financial security!

1. Don’t wait till you REALLY NEED the coverage! By that time you’ll be that much older, you’ll be sick or you will have encountered a health issue that will cause your premiums to be significantly more than you anticipated. That is of course if you can even qualify for the coverage!

2. The highest financial rating doesn’t necessarily mean better coverage. The important thing is to at least be looking at an “A” rated company. There is little, if any difference between one company’s term policy and another, so basing a decision solely on ratings won’t always get you best deal. The highest rated companies tend to be more conservative in their underwriting and attaining the “best available” with them will be a bit more difficult.

3. Shop online first before (or instead of) meeting individually with an agent! Many online life insurance brokerage companies can be a useful source of information and can save you up to 75% on your premiums. The reason is of course because they are impartial and are not driven to sell you only one company’s product.

Read the rest of our Top 10 SmartShopper Life Insurance Purchasing Tips >>>

25 Days of Free Christmas Music

Every day through Christmas, Amazon.com is unveiling a new holiday song available to download free for a limited time.

If there’s a new MP3 player on your shopping list, here’s a way to add the gift of music with holiday favorites from an international lineup of recording artists, from Tori Amos to Lady Gaga.

Happy Holidays from our family to yours…from Efinancial!

Cyber Monday Setting New Traffic Records

While there’s still several more hours to go before the sun sets on Cyber Monday, Internet Traffic Auditor Akamai is using its Net Usage Index to monitor North American visitors to 270 online retail sites, and according to CNN, data from earlier in the day already points to a 43% traffic jump when compared to last year at the same time.

We already know that the average online purchase was up by 35% and that overall online sales were up 11% from last year!  While it’s still too early to predict with certainty, consumer confidence appears to be trending UP!

Holiday Shopping: Tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

With holiday season now upon us, both brick-and-mortar and click-and-mortar retailers are preparing for what they hope will be the busiest shopping days of the year,

The Friday after Thanksgiving has been branded Black Friday while the Monday after Turkey Day has been dubbed  Cyber Monday. Still, many Internet e-tailers say the season’s top spending days could come much later, between Dec. 5 and Dec. 15.

Due to this year’s roller-coaster economic environment, a longer online holiday promotion period is also expected in order for retailers to try and win every last dollar they can from consumers. Macy’s had already began aggressive advertising this year in mid-November.

We’ve polled some of the Web’s top sites for bargain coupons, sweet as peppermint deals and smart savings strategies to help you make the most of your special shopping days starting with Amazon’s Cyber Monday coupons.

Smarter Shopping For Cheerier Holidays! >>>

Life Insurance Settlements – Cashing Out At the End of a Policy

The facts about Life Insurance Settlements are not well known to a great many policy holders. Just what is a Life Settlement anyway?

Simply put, a Life Settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy to a third party for more than its cash surrender value but less than its net death benefit.

Such a transaction is usually undertaken by those later in life for the purposes of estate or financial planning. Indeed, the redemption of a policy can put an additional financial option in the hands of American consumers at a time when they may need it most.  But don’t expect your insurance company to fully advise you about your choices. The counsel of a trusted financial advisor, or an independent insurance agent can be helpful in suggesting your alternatives.

Learn more about cashing out on a Life Insurance Settlement >>>

Insuring the “Key-Person” in the Life of Your Business

An often overlooked form of insurance that’s been around as long as banks have been lending money to businesses is key-person insurance. If you own a business or have investors, key-person insurance could be one of the most important keys to your business longevity.

Key-person insurance is the same as ordinary life insurance, except that the employer buys, owns, and is the beneficiary of the policy. Most companies have at least one employee who is key to the success of the business. Usually it’s the owner, a partner, a majority stockholder, or someone with a high level of expertise.  The loss or death of that person could mean financial ruin for the company.

The keys to insuring a key person in your business >>>

5 Reasons To Buy Your Insurance Online

It seems so simple, you would think it would be perfectly obvious. Online “information processing” is, practically speaking, what the Internet was invented for. The Web is tailor-made for shopping for the best insurance policy. Where else can you plug-in a few details and, within a few seconds, have your request rocketing across the Web on its way to a variety of insurance underwriters, each competing for your business? Then, with no pressure and with complete privacy, you get to make a sensible financial decision from the comfort of your desk chair or couch.

Here’s why the online insurance quote is the better idea whose time has come.

1. One application. Multiple bidders. Online makes you a kind of savvy broadcaster. You broadcast the fact that you are in the market for, say, life insurance. The insurance companies who are listening for your broadcast are tuned in to your frequency and respond with a matching quote in return. Now that’s good reception. No static at all.

2. The lowest price. Who doesn’t want to get to the bottom line, and fast?  Talk is not cheap when it takes hours to get a straight answer. Online is simply the least expensive and the premium you will be quoted will be the lowest, plain and simple. Since online is the most efficient channel for user direct, point-to-point communication, the savings are baked right in. Insurance companies know you are looking for a low price, not a visit from a salesman. Online cuts costs to the quick.

3. Your needs, not theirs. Ever hear the term “longtail” search in relation to Internet product inventory? It means you can find the exact merchandise in the precise size, color, texture and features you are most interested in. In a word, it’s called “Better Selection.” Online you can find just what you’re looking for.

4. Answers to your questions. There is also no shortage of information online. So you can find the frequently asked questions and the instant answers you want to almost any topic you have in mind. There are even online insurance calculators to help you pinpoint how much coverage you will need.

5. Full-service. Instead of just one line of insurance, from one company, at one price, the best online insurance company offers you choices when it comes to your other insurance needs. Auto, health, homeowners, renters, business, you’ll get the referrals you need. If they can’t help you with every form of insurance, they will tell you who can.

What’s been your experience with online insurance shopping?

What is (ROP) Return on Premium Term Life Insurance and Should I Buy It?

We get some important questions at Efinancialblog.com about saving readers money.  One such query regarded the “Return on Premium Term Life Insurance” or ROP for short. What is it and should I be concerned about it, or even buy it where available?  In this case, an excellent answer has been provided across the blogosphere by Certified Financial Planner Jeff Rose and his blog “GoodFinancialCents.com.”

Jeff writes about how a young business owner client inquired about purchasing a term life insurance policy to provide financial security to his wife and young child in the event of his unexpected passing.  A term life policy makes total sense for his situation, but what he wanted to add is something called a return of premium rider.

For those who are not familiar, the return of premium rider allows the policy holder to get a full refund of all the premiums paid at the end of the contract.  At first, it sounds like a pretty good deal.  The most common complaint that consumers have with life insurance is that if you don’t die, all the money goes directly to the insurance company.  If this is the case, then purchasing the return of premium rider seems totally worth it. Or is it?

Will an ROP rider save you money on Term Life premiums? Read On! >>>

Video: Life Insurance Awareness Month is the Ideal Time for an Insurance Review

If you had a choice between thinking about life insurance or entering a photo contest with the chance to win great prizes, which would you choose? Okay, don’t answer that. But what if you could do both at the same time? In conjunction with the beginning of Life Insurance Awareness Month, the nonprofit LIFE Foundation has kicked off the “Wonders of Life” Photo Contest to provide Americans with a fun way to get them thinking about their life insurance needs.

Throughout September, Americans are encouraged to visit www.wondersoflife.org and upload a photograph that captures a wondrous moment in the life of their family, the kind of moment that life insurance can preserve.

“People want the very best for their loved ones and work hard to provide them with a comfortable lifestyle and every opportunity to experience the wondrous moments that life has to offer,” said Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, RFC, president and CEO of LIFE. “But people need to think about what would happen to their loved ones’ quality of life if something were to happen to them. We hope that our contest will help Americans realize how life insurance can help preserve all that they’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

The grand prize winner will receive a Canon T1i, 12.2-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera. Five runners-up will win $150 gift cards to BestBuy.com. LIFE will announce the winners of the “Wonders of Life” Photo Contest on or around November 18, 2009 and feature winning photos on its website. The deadline to enter is September 30, 2009. Entrants must be 18 years or older.

To view the ‘Wonders of Life” video, visit the following link.  And remember: Efinancial can help you shop for affordable life insurance from more of America’s top life insurance companies, all in one easy free life insurance quote.

Back-to-School Savings Lessons!

It seems like only yesterday that binders, looseleaf paper, book covers and #2 pencils were the staples (and scotch tape) of a back-to-school shopping list.  Now the latest high tech gadgetry, from calculators to thermos bottles, and backpacks to netbooks are vying to make the list.  Here’s how to keep it economical.

1. Go Green. Recycle supplies from last year,
Get kids to think green about reusing the markers, binders, pens and pads that have been gathering dust since last semester. The more students you have under your roof, the more likely your surplus pile is full of buried treasure.

2. Make the “A” List first.  Save the “B”  List for later.
Like overpacking for summer vacation, it’s easy to overload a shopping cart with more than what is needed for the first few weeks of school. Put the “must haves” on your A-list and the extra niceties on a “B” list. Some teachers have specific requirements fur supplies which may only be know after the first day of school. Avoid stockpiling unnecessary items until you know exactly what’s needed.
Find more Back-to-School Money Savers inside >>>

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