Posted on Fri, Oct 29, 2010
The clock stood still last week as people around the world held their collective breath to follow the rescue of 33 miners trapped in Chile deep beneath the earth’s surface.
One mining publication called the high-profile rescue a “great triumph” for Chile and the global mining industry. While the rescue had a joyful ending, the Chilean rescue left insurance firms and investors scratching their heads about the next unplanned event and inevitable comparisons. Today’s global organizations are more concerned than ever with ensuring that their management teams have robust risk management processes in place.
Chile holds about 30 percent of the world’s copper reserves. China, with its own reserves, is the biggest user. Surging demand in Asia has brought near-record prices in global copper markets, enticing small mining firms to amp up operations to supply the metal for homes, vehicles, countless electronics.
While large Chilean mining firms have above-average safety records, small San Esteban operated its sole mine with high debt. After the collapse, the company admitted lacking resources to mount a rescue. With the help of teams from around the world, a deathly crisis was averted. New regulations could cost billions, and the Chilean government promises an investigation, while doubling the number of inspectors and closing 20 other small mines. The nation’s regulatory agency had 18 inspectors for several hundred mines.
Avert disaster for your family with a life insurance policy from Efinancial. So when disaster strikes, your family is protected.
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com
Posted on Mon, Oct 25, 2010
It was a blast that was heard around the world on television, radio airwaves, and the Internet, but the shock that travelled from Washington D.C., back to the city of San Bruno city where explosions shook a town from its roots, took the lives of 8, and destroyed 35 homes has ended with a whimper.
Federal disaster officials have denied a request for millions of dollars in aid for the city ravaged by the deadly natural gas pipeline explosion, rebuffing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s plea.
FEMA will only agree to reimburse up to 75 percent of the firefighting costs from the incident, stating that the blasts have not been as devastating to the state and local budgetary resources as to the homes themselves.
California Deputy insurance commissioner Tony Cignarale counseled that insured homeowners have about a year to tell their insurance company what has been destroyed, but urged them not to wait too long Until other remedies or liabilities are uncovered, private homeowner’s insurance is the only recourse.
Talk to Efinancial about our homeowners’ insurance coverage, because emergencies will happen, and indeed, can happen to anyone.
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com
Posted on Fri, Oct 22, 2010
We have written in this blog about
Life Insurance Settlements, a legal practice in many states that allows a life insurance policy holder to redeem a policy for a cash amount that is generally more than the surrender value. For those looking to convert a mature life insurance policy into some money, the option is a real alternative.
But the Ohio Attorney General has a strong warning for anyone who is contacted by strangers who offer an incentive to buy life insurance and then turn it over to a group of “investors” in exchange for cash. It may be illegal!
The Stranger Originated Life Insurance (STOLI) concept would have you purchase a policy and then name the investors as the beneficiary of the policy. These “strangers” would then pay the premiums. It’s a morbid idea. The sooner you die, the more money they make. That fact alone should be cause for concern.
And there are other serious concerns about the scheme.
The same Attorney General informs that the strangers who would own your policy could obtain access to your personal data and medical records. They would also have the right to contact you from time to time to check on your health condition. These outsiders could sell or transfer your policy at any time, so you might not know who the beneficiary is. The transactions might also prohibit you from buying life insurance in the future if you need it or adversely affect your eligibility to qualify for Medicaid. The payment amount you receive for selling your policy is not protected from claims by creditors, and it may have tax consequences. Lastly, you could face criminal charges if you engage in a STOLI transaction.
The bottom line: Compared to taking life insurance from strangers, taking candy is a lot sweeter.
Play it safe, smart and secure by trusting your most important protection to the people who protect so many others. Talk to Efinancial about a free life insurance rate quote today!
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com
Posted on Mon, Oct 18, 2010
When
Google was founded in 1988, its mission statement was to classify everything that is known. Google’s
Larry Page said at the time “Basically, our goal is to organize the world’s information and to make it universally accessible and useful.”
Thanks to computer terminals built into cash registers and product ID scanning devices, one of the things we have come to know very well is shopping data. Guided by Google economist Hal Varian, Google is developing an alternative means of tracking inflation known as the Google Price Index (GPI). The goal of the effort is to provide more timely price index data based on the price of items sold online.
The often cited Consumer Price Index (CPI) provides a monthly measure of inflation based on pricing data gathered by hand from brick-and-mortar retailers along with other sources. The CPI data is published monthly and can be delayed by several weeks. Google’s method of utilizing online sources of pricing data offers a more real time reflection of pricing indexes.
As reported in the Financial Times, the Google system will not replace CPI since it represents a different sector of goods and services. Housing accounts for 40 percent of the CPI in the United States but only 18% of the GPI. Consumer goods are in line with the CPI while goods like cars, which are bought less frequently online differ.
Google products like Google Merchant Center and Google Checkout also represent a large collection of online pricing data. Using this data to create a price index which might aid economists in creating more accurate price indexes falls in the more “useful” category of Google’s global vision.
As a life insurance search engine that is organizing quotes from America’s leading life insurance companies, Efinancial can more than appreciate the contribution that search technology is making to our society. Find the insurance rates and coverage you are searching for by starting with the quick FREE QUOTE box on the right.
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com
Posted on Fri, Oct 15, 2010
A British consumer research agency by the name of “Which?” found that those individuals who surfed the Web to shop for banking and insurance products and services were getting vastly better deals than those customers going into a brick and mortar branch office.
Clicks beat bricks every time! The demographic trend line in today’s society is a bright one where younger customers are more likely to go online and seek out the best deal. Older customers, who are typically not as computer savvy often stick to using their rolodex and in-person visits. The statistics show they are losing out. Is this fair?
The “Which?” market research group looked specifically at travel insurance and found a four fold difference in price between the best online deal and the best in-office deal. The trend between online and offline sales and service occurs across the board, from travel to health and life insurance rates. Efinancial lets you tap the power of online insurance value-shopping and click your way to a simply smarter product to protect your family. Give us a click today!
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com
Posted on Tue, Oct 12, 2010
This week,
BankRate.com published its analysis of the
Top 10 Costliest Life Insurance Health Conditionsthat will affect the premiun of a life insurance policy, and, in some cases, may determine whether the applicant can obtain life insurance in the first place.
Which health conditions are most likely to affect your life insurance rate class?
1. High Blood Pressure. “If your blood pressure has never remotely approached 120 over 80, an underwriter will wonder why.” If it’s under control the underwriter will consider it.
2. Diabetes. Type 2 (or adult onset) diabetes presents a challenge to underwriters because of the toll it takes on the body’s vascular system. It can lead to coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, renal failure and blindness.
3. Sleep Apnea. Are you getting enough rest? Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening sleeping disorder characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep.
4. Heart Disease. Given your family history, there is a chance that with some companies this could keep you out of the preferred class.
5. Asthma – An underwriter’s concern about asthma would likely rise in relation to the severity of the condition and how well it is managed.
6. Cancer – Although the word “cancer” will flag any life insurance underwrite, its ultimate effect on an applicant’s rate class can vary from negligible to substantial.
7. Being Overweight. Obesity isn’t the only weight-related health concern. People who are underweight or malnourished, are also a health condition.
8. Organ Transplants. Organ transplants are serious business, which explains why insurance underwriters treat them on a case-by-case basis.
9. Depression. Depression is the one mental condition that can really put a damper on your life insurance rate, and for good reason: When this psychological condition becomes severe, it can lead to suicide.
10. High Cholesterol. Life insurance underwriters tend to treat high cholesterol as they might high blood pressure.High cholesterol, if it is managed, it’s going to be offered preferred. To the extent that it is well-managed and well-controlled, it can be very favorably underwritten.
To find out where you stand in relation to your personal health and a preferred life insurance rate. talk to your Efinancial life insurance representative. Besides, life insurance with no medical exam we can help make sure you have all the most pertinent information available to obtain you the most competitive life insurance rate in almost any situation.
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com
Posted on Fri, Oct 08, 2010
The mandate for individuals to obtain health insurance is constitutional, a federal judge in Michigan has ruled in the first court decision on the merits of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
An individual’s decision not to have health insurance has the same effect as a delberate decision to pay for medical care out of pocket, said U.S. District Court Judge George C. Steeh in a 20-page decision. It meets the standard of “activities that substantially affect interstate commerce” that the U.S. Supreme Court has set for compliance with the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
According to the finding, “The health care market is unlike other markets. No one can guarantee his or her health, or ensure that he or she will never participate in the health care market. Indeed, the opposite is nearly always true. The question is how participants in the health care market pay for medical expenses — through insurance, or through an attempt to pay out of pocket with a backstop of uncompensated care funded by third parties. This phenomenon of cost-shifting is what makes the health care market unique.”
The challenge was brought by the Thomas More Law Center, a conservative Christian legal group, and several Michigan residents. Other decisions on the law are still pending. In August, a federal judge in Virginia ruled that the challenge to the individual mandate based on a Virginia state law could proceed. In Florida, U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson is considering the merits of oral arguments before returning his decision on whether to throw out the case or let it progress. That case includes challenges from an array of states to the mandate to obtain health insurance or face the penalty of a fee .
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com
Posted on Mon, Oct 04, 2010
The results of a growing trend in education and workforce demand are being felt in homes across America. In most areas of the country, unmarried women between the ages of 22 and 30 without kids are making 8 percent more than men are in the same demographic. Data gathered by the
U.S. Census Bureau indicates that at this point in time, young women are 1.5 times more likely to earn college degrees than their male counterparts.
Make no mistake, The survey does not conclude that a woman in the same job makes more than a man. Overall, women make 80 percent of what men make. But the results do show that the recent recession, combined with a surge in education, means women are increasingly becoming the breadwinners in younger families.
For nearly two decades, women have outnumbered men going to college. This is particularly pronounced among minority groups and at historically black colleges, where women outnumber men 2 to 1. Another factor is that male-dominated industries like manufacturing were hit harder by the recession. There are more women in managerial jobs now than men.
Are You Insured?
The danger is that when it comes to protecting both breadwinner’s incomes, many families only have the right amount of life insurance for one of the spouses and that is typically the man.
That needs to change and change fast since, according to experts, when the economy rebounds, this new generation of women will be better poised to make more money.
A preview of the post-recession economy suggests that women are well-poised to be earning the higher incomes in certain fields and jobs, and will play a decisive, new role in reshaping the markets.
In today’s economy, two incomes are better than one. Make sure both earners in your family are protected with a fast, free affordable life insurance quote from Efinancial.
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com
Posted on Fri, Oct 01, 2010
I
n case you were wondering whether America’s
federal flood insurance program was about to dry up as the page on the monthly calendar turned to October, you can sleep a little easier tonight, and for the year ahead.
President Obama has signed into law S. 3814, a bill that will extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) until Sept. 30, 2011. Without the measure, the program would have expired last night. Talk about a leaky bill. Congress had allowed the protection to lapse three times this year.
The signing comes as a relief for millions of Americans who could be affected by floods or simply wish to buy or sell a home. However, the extension only maintains the program ‘as is.’ A simple extension such as this one will not help make the program either self-sufficient or sustainable.
Those threatened by the potential disaster of flood waters hope that this one year extension will provide much needed stability and security. What is truly needed, most claim, is an increase in maximum coverage limits and the addition of optional business interruption insurance.
For a flood of life insurance value that acts like an umbrella of protection for your entire family, Efinancial invites you to compare your current life insurance premium with a competitive quote in less than five minutes. How much will you save? Start with the quote request box on the right and let Efinancial protect your liquid assets.
To get a
Term Life Insurance Quote or Research how to
Buy Life Insurance Online visit
Efinancial.com