Life Insurance Blog | Efinancial

Life insurance for Generation Y

You’re young, hip and plugged in—and you’ve probably given little thought to life insurance. Like many of your generation, you are probably waiting for certain life events to occur before investigating the ins and outs of such financial products. But life insurance covers expenses that could end up burdening your family like funeral costs and other debts (e.g. vehicle, student loans, credit). You live in an age when information is at your finger tips, so shouldn’t you take a moment to learn a bit more about something so important?

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A 2010 survey released by Prudential revealed that the average Gen Y’er has developed a number of misconceptions about life insurance. For example, many Generation Y members believe life insurance is only a necessity for people who have high-risk occupations or are ill or elderly. Others surveyed believe life insurance to be a luxury product reserved for the well-off.

When it comes to shopping, Generation Y members turn to the internet for research, review and purchasing of many items that interest them. Learning more about financial services should be no exception. The internet is a boundless resource for you to better understand the complexities of financial products and planning.

Figuring out what products and services fit your needs is always the first step to purchasing life insurance. To help you get started, you can read articles and use our insurance needs calculator at www.efinancial.com.

Purchasing life insurance

In response to the lifestyles and preferences for most of Generation Y, the industry has taken steps to give consumers a simpler way to buy—you can now even purchase life insurance completely online.

However, it doesn’t hurt to still talk with a professional. Part of a life insurance agent’s job is to demystify the life insurance process and help you find the product that is right for you. Also, according to Prudential’s survey, 53 percent of Generation Y members that participated said though they would consider buying life insurance online, they would still prefer to consult with an agent at some point during the buying process.

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

“Wall Street” Director Oliver Stone A Lot Less Flashy With His Own Money

The director of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to the story of financier Gordon Gekko and his “Greed is Good” philosophy, is a lot less flashy than the corporate marauders portrayed in his movies.

Oliver Stone, 64, who directed both Wall Street motion pictures, said that people should avoid “flashy” financial advisers.

Stone commented that he has been with the same broker for 25 years and that these days everyone’s bombarded with advice on what to do with their money.

The Academy Awards winning director also revealed that during the course of filming the follow-up to Wall Street he rebalanced his portfolio to be more conservative and also got more aggressive in Asia and Europe.

“I’m still in the dollar,” the New York Post quoted him as quickly emphasizing.

For a sensible financial solution to shopping for the best life insurance premiums, Efinancial gives you so many choices, you’ll feel like you’re talking to a friend of the family.

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

Treating Medical Debts Differently Deserves More Credit

A bill  introduced in the Senate, the Medical Debt Relief Act, would prohibit credit bureaus from using paid off or settled medical debt collections in assessing a consumer’s credit worthiness.

Once a past due medical bill is paid off or settled, the bill would require the creditor or credit rating agency to expunge the medical debt from the consumer’s record within 45 days, or as soon as 30 days in the version of the bill proposed by the House of Representatives.

The alarming fact is that medical debt can wreck a credit record.  For instance. many whose credit has been compromised by a derogatory medical reference are unable to qualify for home loans.  With spiralling health costs, it’s no surprise that more adults are struggling to pay medical bills and are accumulating medical debt.

That’s the diagnosis. Now for the cure.

 

According to the Commonwealth Fund, an independent health care research group, the number of people reporting problems paying medical bills or having accumulated medical debts has been growing rapidly. Between 2005 and 2007, that number grew by 23 percent to 27 million adults, it reports.

“It’s already incredibly difficult for families to pay off the high cost of medical treatments for serious injuries and diseases,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., one of several senators who introduced the Senate bill. “To add insult to injury, after families pay off their exorbitant medical debt, they continue to take a hit on their credit scores. This bill will give families a fair deal and ensure that their future financial transactions won’t be negatively affected by a bad credit score just because of past medical debt.”

Experts say that even one negative medical collection mark can drop a consumer’s credit score, potentially costing that consumer thousands of dollars in higher interest rates on home and automobile loans, credit cards and other revolving lines of credit.

Because many medical bills are submitted first to insurance companies, consumers often don’t learn that they’re responsible for a medical bill until they hear from a collection agency, by which time their credit score has already suffered.

As reported in the Dallas Morning News, the three national credit bureaus – Experian, TransUnion and Equifax – make no distinction between unpaid medical bills and any other delinquent bill. In their models for determining a person’s credit score, medical debt is treated like all other consumer debt.

That’s unfair because medical debt is unlike other debt. It’s often beyond the control of consumers. It’s not caused by poor money management and therefore doesn’t reflect a person’s creditworthiness. You don’t ask for a heart attack or to get into a serious accident.

The Dallas Morning News concludes that “no expenditure can hurl you toward financial ruin as quickly as medical bills. If you’ve paid off or settled your medical debt, your credit record should promptly reflect that, and it shouldn’t be used to portray you in the same unfavorable light as if you were a wild spender. Congress still needs to pass the legislation.”  What’s your opinion?

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

American Optimism Is On the Rise!

Northwestern Mutual’s Optimism Barometer Suggests Americans Have Adjusted to the Near-Term Challenges of the ‘New Normal,’ and are Increasingly Optimistic About their Long-Term Prospects

The latest results collected from Northwestern Mutual’s Optimism Barometer – an online measurement tool– indicate a distinct upward trend in positive outlooks among Americans, despite the near-term challenges of the current economic climate. Most notably, recent data has revealed a 60% year-over-year jump in people who scored at the highest end of the optimism scale.

These results suggest that Americans are, in increasing numbers, accepting the reality of the ‘New Normal’ while also being able to see beyond the immediate challenges of the current economic cycle and remain optimistic about their long-term prospects, said Northwestern Mutual. “We find it encouraging that Americans appear to be widening their time horizons and bringing a long-term approach to how they pursue their goals. It’s something at the very core of what we believe in, and aim to deliver through our process; and it’s a strategy that also has broad applications beyond finances in people’s lives.”

The Optimism Barometer consists of six short questions that take less than a minute to complete. The questions were culled from The American Reality Study, which was commissioned in 2009 by Northwestern Mutual to help provide insight into how Americans are handling the economic, political, and social changes taking place in the United States; and to gain valuable perspectives on the way people view their lives and their future.

In the first quarter of 2009, only 25 percent of Americans scored between 8-10 (out of 10) on the optimism scale. Today, nearly 40 percent (39.7%) scored between 8-10, representing a 60% year-over-year increase in people at the highest end of the scale.

Additionally, it is not only the most optimistic among us that saw increases. Optimism shifted up in all categories, leaving only 2.4 percent of total respondents in the “least optimistic” category (0-4 on the optimism scale) versus 19 percent last year.

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

Money Tweets: Financial Education in 140 Characters or Less

Interested in a fast, easy-to-absorb guide to personal financial news and information you can “eyeball”  literally at a glance.  Mint.com (www.mint.com), a leading online personal finance service from Intuit, Inc., has condensed it down to a salvo of messages in bite size Twitter chunks of just 40 characters each.

The new “Money Tweets” service deliver news and advice from from across the Twittersphere, and synthesizes it in a single, streamlined platform at www.mint.com/twitter.

 

Money Tweets includes five categories, allowing people to home in on whatever content most interests them:

• Topics – Collects information relating to budgets, saving, investment, loans, and retirement feeds. Sources range from industry leaders, such as Morningstar (@morningstarinc.) and the Wall Street Journal (@WSJ), to bloggers with cult following and specific expertise, including Wisebread (@wisebread), Stocktwits (@stocktwits) and Budgets are Sexy (@budgetsaresexy).
• Tweets about Mint.com – Tracks, in real-time, what people are saying about Mint.com.
• Tweets from Mint.com - Updates followers on the latest from Mint.com -product upgrades, new blog content, economic indices and awards or speaking opportunities. This tab helps people keep up with what the company is doing, and shows the interaction between the Mint.com team and customers that happens in the Twittersphere.
• Questions – A question of the day – based on spending patterns, budgeting tips or other relevant topics – helps users learn from each other and crowd sources fun and useful tips and tricks.
• Popular – Keeps followers on top of hot financial topics, anything from the bailout, interest rates or Bernie Madoff. Money Tweet tracks and reports on volume and trending patterns over a selected period of time.How has Twitter influenced the way you manage your money? Could you benefit from financial advice in short message bursts?

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

Calculating How Much Life Insurance You Need

A friend recently related a story of how a man and his wife had bought and re-bought new life insurance policies several times over the past 5-10 years. As their income increased and their responsibilities grew, they had steadily outgrown their coverage.  It’s a common occurrence and easy-to-understand.

While a standard rule of thumb is to lock in a term policy for 8x or 10x your annual salary, the actual coverage amount that is right for your family depends entirely on your personal situation. If you want your life insurance policy to provide support for your family for an extended period of time, you’ll obviously need more coverage. If you’re comfortable with your insurance policy being a short-term stopgap, you can get away with less.

Efinancial offers an online life insurance calculator that allows you to enter data on anticipated one-time expenses, ongoing living expenses, years of need, and any special savings goals you may have. Just a few seconds is all it takes to “crunch the numbers” and give you a cushion to fall back on.  In addition, Efinancial also offers Insurance Calculators to determine your Net Worth, estimate the Cost of Raising Children, or calcuating an Annuity.  Just scroll down the Efinancial home page to find these handy and informative Insurance Calculator choices.

While you’re visiting, did you know Efinancial has set up an extensive Life Insurance E-Learning Center? Efinancial is one of the few companies in the insurance industry to put a complete, A-Z Insurance Education Center right at your fingertips.  We bet there’s not a single life insurance question you want to know about that’s not covered in this online library. But if there is, please let us know!

When estimating the amount of life insurance your family will need, there are a few things you don’t want to forget.  Consider whether or not yo uhave coverage from work.  But keep in mind, if you lose you your job this benefit could be expendable.

Another important point to consider is whether or not you have a non-working spouse.  Are you relatively early in your career path? Do you plan on expanding your family? Do you anticipate any other major changes in the future? If so, then it’s likely that your life insurance needs will change (perhaps dramatically) in the years ahead.

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

A Taxing Decision: What to Do with Your Refund

The tax refund splurges of years past are not a reality for most Americans in 2009. Many people are likely wringing their hands over what to do with the money they receive back from Uncle Sam. Their concerns are well-founded: It’s more important than ever to consider the right options for your refund.

It’s also the right time for refund recipients to consider meeting with a financial professional who can help establish financial priorities and goals.

If you have outstanding bills or debts, take care of those matters first. But if you find you have money left over from your tax refund or have the full amount, don’t be scared of your options — be smart in your decisions.

Consider these options to put your tax refund to work for you…

 

• Set up an emergency savings fund. Simply essential. The old conventional wisdom advised saving enough money to cover three to six months of unemployment. Many financial professionals now recommend keeping enough money stashed away to cover six months to one year of unemployment.
• Buy life insurance. Many people have only the life insurance plans offered by their employer. But your family needs protection whether you’re working or between jobs. There are two basic types of life insurance: term and permanent. A financial professional can help you determine the type and amount of protection you may need.
• Contribute to or open an IRA. Yes, the market is unstable. But pulling out of a retirement plan altogether is not the answer. Both the traditional and Roth IRAs are great ways to save for retirement, although each offers different advantages. If you’re employed and have an IRA, continue contributing. If you’ve become unemployed, you might want to do a rollover from your retirement plan to a qualified IRA.
• Purchase a CD. If you don’t need immediate access to your funds, you may benefit from the fixed interest rates available with a Certificate of Deposit. You can buy a CD with a maturity or holding period as short as 30 days or as long as five years.
• Start or add to a college fund. Pay for the present, or save for your child’s education? That’s the agonizing decision faced by many parents considering a 529 College Savings Plan. But what many parents may not know is that the plan portfolio has different investment allocations based on the age of your child.

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

Life Insurance Options When Times are Tough

“In hard economic times, investors look for ways to lighten their financial load,” writes life insurance advisor Peter C. Kat in this month’s Journal of Financial Planning.

Affordable life insurance can have a decisive role to play. Instead of buying higher-cost permanent policies that generate cash value, policy buyers can look to much lower-cost term insurance for savings while protecting their families against catastrophic loss. If cash value policies are acquired make sure they are low expense so you can have immediate liquidity if and when you need funds. When savings have amassed  in a policy and cash is needed, investors may be able to withdraw or borrow from cash values of permanent policies.

Financial decisions can come under stress in difficult economic times. Yet, decisions about life insurance during such periods are vital to your family’s future. So keep these guidelines in mind. Term life insurance is much more relevant because of its simple, low costs. Low-expense survivorship universal life should be used for term insurance when estate tax liquidity is the problem. Static-priced universal life insurance with low to zero cash values shows its significant weakness when liquidity is needed, and is often rejected for that reason alone.  Finally, the amount of early whole life and conventional universal life cash values can be improved by buying low-cost versions.

The Journal of Financial Planning is the official publication of the Financial Planning AssociationTo get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

Five Ways to Recoup Losses

With retirement cushions beginning to look more like throw pillows –  many families are wondering: “How can we recoup some of our losses?”

Bloomberg commentator John F. Wasik spelled out five ways any household  can save and use their money prudently even in a bad year.

One, keep investing, but do it in yoursellf!  Continue to contribute to your 401(k) plan. Keep in mind that taking your employer’s matching contribution, if you have one, is still a 100 percent initial return on investment. If you don’t feel comfortable investing, save up cash and put it in money-market funds, I-bonds or certificates of deposit.

Two, appeal your property taxes. Do this every year by reviewing your home’s assessed valuation. If it’s too high compared with similar properties, talk to your local assessor or appeal it on the county level. If you win the argument, you can usually freeze or lower your real-estate tax bill.

Shop Around for Insurance
Three, yes, shop around for insurance. Everything from increasing your deductible, or out-of-pocket expense, to lowering premiums across the board on life, health, homeowner’s and other policies. [Efinancial can help in this department. - Ed.]

Four, reduce risk. This should be your most powerful theme this year. Buy bonds or mutual and exchange-traded funds to lower the percentage of stocks in your portfolio. If you are in an adjustable-rate mortgage, cut your interest-rate risk by refinancing into a fixed-rate loan. Pay down your credit cards.

Five, beat inflation. If you have decades before you want to retire, you should have some portion of your holdings in Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities and dividend-paying stocks.

Will the rebound begin this year or will there be another year or two of pain?  Wasik says he can’t answer that burning question, although he remains optimistic –  while wincing at his retirement-plan statement.

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com

How to Save Money on Life Insurance

A time-honored adage reminds us that “Money saved is money earned”. According to a recent media poll, most senior citizens like investing in life insurance in order to prevent money from being wasted. Technology can be a key facilitator in finding the best place to make this money-saving investment. EFinancial empowers consumers to use technology and find the very best value.

The new consumer-centric online marketplace has compelled life insurance providers to step up to the plate. The newly transformed life insurance company has become a money saving corporation catering to the needs of today’s economy-minded consumers. A recent blog post set out to advise consumers on how to save money by smart investing in life insurance.

How to save money when investing on life insurance – Consumer should always evaluate the financial soundness of companies when investing in life insurance. A great many companies offer life insurance products these days. Which are the best? Narrow down your search by focusing in on companies that have a have a good reputation in the market. Avoid being lured by those who offer low premium rates. A lesser known and lesser reputed premium-leader could turn out to be the wrong choice in the long run.

-Determine the right rate class- Once you have decided which companies you want to go for determine the rate class that suits you best. Most of the life insurance companies sell different price classes.

- Find the best rate – Locating a good rate may be a daunting task for you as many companies essentially offer different rates for the same policy.

-It’s advisable to look for renewal guarantees- Always go for renewal guarantees. So, that after the current renewal ends you are able to start a new term and in the process save money.

Getting the right kind of deal and saving money by buying life insurance may turn out to be a messy affair if you do not take proper precautions before venturing out to find the deal that suits you best. It is a good idea to get some handy tips from an industry insider so that you do not fall in a financial trap.

Saving money is all about making then right moves at the right time. Invest in life insurance that returns the optimum value to yourself and your family.

To get a Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to Buy Life Insurance Online visit Efinancial.com