Getting life insurance for your family is a commitment. Life insurance coverage ensures your family with a safety net that can be counted-on to let them continue with a qualify of life they have come to expect. Raising a family and protecting their interests requires team work.

I talk to people everyday in every state of our great country. All of them have the same goal: affordable, quality life insurance.

The employees of AccuQuote understand how important this is to our customers.

From the account executives who provide the vital information about insurance plans and costs to the administrators and courtesy team who process the incoming applications and phone calls, team work extends to every department. From the case managers who are working with applicants and insurance carriers to the managers and supervisors providing guidance and experience, team work ... in a matter of speaking ... reigns supreme!

Applying for life insurance -- and most importantly getting application approval -- is not an "overnight" process. Submitting an application, underwriting review, and follow-up work with customers and insurance carriers requires a "hands-on" effort. Making sure medical records, application forms, and insurance regulations are satisfied demands experience and quick access to information.

Everyday, case managers are updating customers with the latest and most current information about their applications. We are calling our insurance carriers; expediting information and applications. All of this results in a level of service we don't take for granted.

Our first-class technology gives us the vital information we need to move applications from submission to approval. Our experienced co-workers support each other where questions arise or assistance is needed. AccuQuote's relationship and reputation with some of the best insurance companies available is far-reaching and a source of pride!

AccuQuote is successful because of team work and quality. Each year we have been more successful than the last. Each year busier than the one before. Yet, one thing never changes: our commitment to quality, customer service, and efficiency.

The case management team doesn't forget that!

Of course, you can't control how old you are and you can't change the past in the way of pre-existing conditions and previous smoking habits. But there are some things you can do to lower your life insurance premium:

Ask for a lower price. This may sound elementary but like credit card rates, sometimes all it takes is a call to the company with a polite request for lower rates. It's a competitive business and they don't want to lose you.

Buy more. It may be counterintuitive but your premiums are determined by paying a certain amount per dollar of coverage. The more you buy, the less you pay per dollar, especially in large amounts like $250,000 or $500,000. For example, you might pay $1.05 per dollar for $235,000 worth of coverage but pay $.98 per dollar of coverage on $260,000.

Go on a diet. That's right. And quit smoking. The Big Two in terms of insurance coverage are more than just optimistic new year's resolutions. Life insurance companies charge half as much for policies on non smokers than smokers. Depending on the difference between your weight and the average, healthy weight for your height, you could be looking at a discount of 25 percent or more. It could give you quite a discount on your health insurance, as well.

First of all, let's take it from the top: babies and children do not need life insurance. If you are a parent or a grandparent, you can best protect the new baby or the children in your life by taking out life insurance on yourself and listing the child as the beneficiary. Not by insuring them. Life insurance is not an investment vehicle. It will not help your child get into college.

The idea behind life insurance is that those who have dependents or people counting on them financially for the future will be provided for in the event that that person dies. The beneficiary can be an elderly family member who needs long-term care or a child who needs to go to college. More commonly, life insurance is taken out on both bread winners in a family so that in the event of sudden death, the parent left behind to shoulder the emotional burden won't have to worry about where the mortgage payment is going to come from as well.

Older adults whose children are grown may not feel like they need life insurance, but that's not necessarily so. Even if a large estate is left behind, it can be tied up for years in court dealing with taxes and other dispersal expenses. Life insurance payments can be made right away so that the family can cover death costs.

Single working adults without children may decide to take out a life insurance to help nieces and nephews through college or take care of their parents.

In a nutshell: Adults need life insurance. Children do not.

Often time's people ask me what's more important: Life insurance or disability insurance. I'm here to tell you they are both equally important. Let's explore why...

First, I want you to think about your most valuable asset. Is it your home, car, jewelry? If you said yes to one of those or to another material possession, I would have to argue that your most valuable asset is your ability to earn a living. And just as you would insure your car, your home, and other valuable possessions, you need to insure yourself in case you are no longer able to work or insure your family in case you were no longer around to work. That's what disability and life insurance do...protect your family's most valuable possession...your ability to earn a living.

If someone depends on you financially, you need life insurance. The death benefit can help replace your income and help your family meet many important financial needs like daily living expenses, mortgage payments and college savings. Most American's need it. In fact, twenty-two percent of families with dependent children admit they will have immediate trouble meeting everyday living expenses, and another 26 percent can cover expenses for only a few months if the primary wage earner dies.

Now, if becoming disabled may seem unlikely, the odds may surprise you. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans will become disabled for 1 year or more before the age of 65. Think about that for a second. If an accident or illness keeps you out of work for a period of time it can be very costly. A disabling injury or illness could lead to medical bills, modifications to your car or home, or other unforeseen needs that can be quite expensive. For all these reasons, almost anyone who works ­whether they're single, married, with children or without ­should consider disability income insurance.

Many people often wonder the same thing....can I have more than one life insurance policy from more than one carrier? The answer is yes!

Let's say you purchased a policy 5 years ago, but now need more life insurance due to the fact that your family is growing. You have a few options. You can keep the policy and purchase a new one to supplement the amount that you need. You can shop around for a new policy with a larger face amount, but remember, you're 5 years older so you may not get as good of a rate that you had.

Whatever the decision, DO NOT cancel any existing policies as you never know how your health or lifestyle in the past 5 years could affect the underwriting decision of the carrier.

There are advantages and disadvantages to everything. And there has always been a debate on whether or not child life insurance was a good thing. I wanted to provide my readers with the facts. Only you can decide what's best for your family.

Disadvantages

• Your child may need a medical exam
• They probably won't use it
• Most young adults can get coverage later

• Insurance premiums may actually drop as your child ages

• Kids don't pose a financial loss

• Your group life insurance may already cover them

Advantages

• They can convert to another policy when they're 21
• They can continue their current coverage into adulthood

• They can lock in a low premium rate
• They may become uninsurable later

An Idaho man convicted of killing his wife by poisoning her with sleeping pills and drain cleaner has appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court to help him collect on her life insurance. The murderer himself was not present in court Wednesday because he is serving a life sentence in prison. But his attorney has argued that the killer should get half the payout of his wife's $200,000 policy under Idaho's community property laws.

Under Idaho's 'slayer statute,' a person convicted of killing another cannot receive any benefits, including collecting on a life insurance policy, from the victim's death. Idaho's 4th District Court ruled last year that the insurance money should go to the wife's estate. But because Mary Severson's policy was paid for with communal funds from their marriage, half the proceeds belong to the convict regardless of whether he killed her, according to his defense attorney.

"This isn't an insurance policy recovery case," says the lawyer. "This is a case of someone trying to recover their own property."

The fact is that even if the murderer were to win the case, because he is insolvent the funds recouped would go to the selfsame attorney as partial payment of his legal fees. The attorney readily admits that he's representing his former criminal client in the suit in hopes of recouping some of his legal fees. The suit is being contested by the murdered woman's mother.

When it comes to life insurance we have two primary types of policy to choose from – term life insurance or whole of life insurance. Many people find it hard to come to a decision about which type of policy to take out but the decision you have to make really isn't that complex and both will offer good levels of cover for the majority of people. Let's take a closer look at your options.

This article from the Cincinatti Enquirer is a good one. It talks about how various life stages need different life insurance plans. I think that it's a good thing to reiterate and keep in mind as you go through life. A review of your life insurance needs should be conducted at least every 3 years to determine if the coverage/plan you currently have fits your current needs.

As shown by Compulife's History of Term Life Insurance Premiums, life insurance for the most part has never been cheaper. Online life insurance quotes have made life insurance shopping easy. There are hundreds of insurance carriers online and thousands of products to chose from, so where to begin? Well, the best approach to online shopping is to prepare yourself before you start your search.

Ask yourself questions like:

• Why do I need life insurance
• Should I buy term or permenant life insurance
• How long do I need it
• How much do I need

Talk with a broker that deals with multiple companies. He or she will know the ins and outs of each company and will be able to find you the best value for your lifestyle and health profile.

First, when was your last term life insurance payment due? If your payment is NOT more than 30 or 31 days late, which is the typical grace period, then there is no need to worry. Simply pay the bill or call the life insurance company to make sure that it's not past the grace period.

If you are past the 30 or 31 day grace period and the premium remains unpaid, the policy will then go into a state of lapse.

The life insurance company should give you an opportunity to reinstate the policy by paying all the premiums due. Different life insurance companies have different policies so be sure to check with yours.

Please note, things are a bit different for permanent life insurance policies. We'll explore that in a later post.

There's a great book out called Genetics and Life Insurance....probably not the most exciting book you'd want to pick up this fall, however there's an excerpt from the book that does a great job explaining why life insurance companies would want to use genetic tests in life insurance pricing.

It's a very controversal issue and one that I completely disagree with - they should not be allowed to use genetic testing to price life insurance. I feel this way first and foremost because it's an invasion of privacy and if they do it for life insurance, they'll want to do it for health insurance too. Health insurance is so expensive right now to begin with, that many people wouldn't be able to afford health insurance if they were to go this route. For instance, let's take a women who has the gene that predisposes her to breast cancer. Her rate for life insurance and health insurance would be astronomical due to this predisposal. It's ridiculous!

Again, there are many great articles out there about life insurance as September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. Here's one from Motley Fool.

From a press release distributed by Allstate Insurance....again, some great information:

While newlyweds traditionally receive advice from friends and relatives on secrets for a successful marriage, protecting their financial future is one thing seemingly forgotten in these conversations.

A recent survey by Allstate Insurance Company shows the value of newlyweds' combined assets is approximately $107,000 on average. However, few newlyweds are actually taking steps to protect their financial future through purchases such as life insurance. The majority of the respondents (61%) did not purchase a policy before marriage, and 64% of those still had not purchased life insurance within the first three years of marriage. In fact, only 23% of these spouses claimed to have bought life insurance during their first year of marriage, and this trend continued in years two (2%) and three (7%).

There will be lots of interesting articles and research studies that I'll share with you throughout the month. This one has to deal with how hispanic families are said to be more underinsured than the general population. In fact, the Life Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) offers several tips for obtaining coverage.