With all the changes that have taken place in ‘08, your life has likely changed too. You’ve moved to a new home, taught a teen to drive, traded in that gas-guzzling car or changed health insurance plans in an effort to tighten the budget and conserve money.

Maybe, on the other hand, it’s been a really bad year. You’ve lost your job and, subsequently, your health insurance. Or had an accident and ended up with medical bills out the wazoo. Maybe your home’s interest rate adjusted and you’re behind on your mortgage—or lost your home completely.

Regardless what has happened this year, the New Year brings hope—and a fresh start. Though there’s little control over some things going forward, like the economy or unemployment, taking control of personal finances helps put you back at the helm of your own life and home again. And insurance is a great place to start.

As life changes occur—good and bad—so should your insurance coverage. By reviewing insurance policies, checking coverage levels and shopping for lower rates now, you can help put cash back in your pocket over the next year—and safeguard everything you work so hard for.

If you changed jobs and found your employer’s health plan too expensive to manage, now’s the perfect time to look for new coverage. If you bought an older car and didn’t think about dropping unnecessary coverages to help save money, start the year fresh by doing so now. If you lost your home and are now renting a condo or apartment, consider renters insurance in lieu of homeowners to protect the precious possessions you took along with you. (Don’t forget to inventory your home so you’ll know exactly what you’re insuring as the New Year begins.)

Take control of personal finances, make changes to your insurance policies for the next year, and do what you can to cut insurance costs in ‘09. It’s a great way to start the New Year fresh—and will help give you confidence during tough times.

Get ready for it. The biggest secret to a cheap life insurance quote is …

Quit smoking.

That’s it. That’s the secret. Continue puffing away, and you may die from life insurance sticker shock before the cigs have a chance to hammer the final nail in the coffin.

If you’re a smoker, find any means possible to quit. If you’re not a smoker, pat yourself on the back—but don’t get too smug, because there’s another secret to saving on life insurance, and I’ll quote foodie Michael Pollan for this one:

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

A healthy diet is essential to a healthy body, and a healthy body is essential to a cheap insurance quote. Make sense? If your meals typically come from the microwave or the drive thru, the chances are good that you’re not following Pollan’s mandate.

In case you didn’t know, many life insurance companies require a physical exam before issuing a policy. That means they check things like your blood pressure, cholesterol level and body mass index. If they don’t like the looks of those numbers, you’re going to pay the price—twice. Once in the form of higher life insurance premiums, and then again in the form of a shorter life. Sorry to be blunt, but this is a short blog post, and I’ve got to get right to the point.

There’s one final secret to a cheap life insurance quote, and that secret has never been more urgent, as our dysfunctional economy has shown:

Keep a tidy financial house.

Over the years, insurers have noticed a strong correlation in the credit-worthiness of an individual and his or her physical health. So spend within your means and pay stuff on time, and insurers will reward you with a lower premium.

If you’re asking Santa for a lower car insurance premium this year, get ready for old Saint Nick to reply with a few questions.

For a guy who pilots a reindeer-powered sleigh through the sky, Santa is remarkably risk averse; if he’s going to give you a better rate on your auto insurance, he’s going to need answers to the following questions:

» How old are you?
» Are you male or female?
» Had any traffic violations lately?
» What’s your credit score?
» Where do you park your car at night?
» How far have you gone in school?

The above factors (plus a few others) contribute to your insurance premium. In aggregate, they give insurance companies an estimate of your “claims risk,” which is insurance-speak for the statistical likelihood that you’ll file a claim sometime in the future. For example, according to traffic statistics, men under the age of 30 are much more likely than any other demographic group to get into an accident and file a claim; they have a high statistical claims risk.

Insurers (including Santa) take this stuff seriously, because if they didn’t, they could reach the point where they were paying more in claims than they collected in premiums. When that happens, the insurer dials the treasury and asks for a bailout goes bankrupt.

While we hate to boast, we think we’ve got an edge on Santa in the insurance department. (Just don’t ask us to rappel down your chimney.) Go to InsureMe.com, fill out one easy form and get matched with local agents from your area. With multiple agents vying for your business, you can compare policies and save money with ease.

What is fire insurance, anyway?

Fire insurance is just one of the many coverages included in a basic homeowner’s insurance policy. Damage from fire is one of the 16 “perils” covered in a traditional policy. (See a list of all 16 perils.)

Home fires are emotionally devastating, financially ruinous, all-too-common and largely avoidable.

Major causes of home fires:

1. Cooking & heating appliances
2. Faulty wiring
3. Unattended cigarettes
4. Lightning
5. Arson

You can reduce your risk by following basic precautionary measures, such as installing smoke detectors and keeping fire extinguishers in strategic locations throughout your home (at least one extinguisher per level and one in the kitchen). Simply having these items, however, does not guarantee their functionality; establish a schedule to ensure that your detectors and extinguishers are in proper working order.

In addition: never leave cooking unattended. Most fires start in the kitchen. Don’t smoke. Smoking is the leading cause of home fire deaths. Follow codes and usage guidelines with all heating a electrical appliances. Heating appliances alone cause over 70,000 fires a year.

Quick fire facts:

• More people die from poisonous gases from fire than from actual burns
• Most fires start in the kitchen
• Smoking is a leading cause of home fire deaths
• Two-thirds of home-fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working alarms*

Fire & holidays
The holiday season is a particularly perilous time for home fires. In 2007, December and January were the peak month for reported home structure fires and home fire deaths. Every year, candle deaths reach a peak in December. Christmas trees are responsible for an average of just under 250 home fires. As one of the coldest months, each December ushers a rise in heating-related home fires.

Armed with the knowledge and coverage you need, you can reduce the physical risk of fire and financial risk of fire damage.

* Many of the facts and statistics used in this post are courtesy of the National Fire Protection Association and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

We’re all looking for ways to conserve money these days. With prices rising and the holidays fast approaching, researchers say we’re spending less than ever on gift giving—and more on everything else.

The one bright spot? Gasoline prices continue to drop—for now at least—something we’re all grateful for after so many months of inflated prices.

But if, like us, you’re looking for additional ways to save on your monthly bills, as you wait and wonder how you’ll buy your wife that new pair of shoes she so desperately needs, there’s good news: using InsureMe to get a cheap insurance quote means you’ll more than likely have extra money to spend on that special someone this year.

If you’ve never shopped your insurance rates through InsureMe, or it’s been more than a year since you did so last, give our agents a chance to compete for your business—and lower your premiums. Whether you need home, life, health, LTC or car insurance, we’ve got connections with agents in your area who need your business as much as you need insurance…and they’ll get you the cheapest insurance quote available just to earn your business.

Spend less on insurance and more on gift giving this year. Then start the New Year with the cheapest rates possible! Here’s to a great 2009….

Shopping for insurance is usually one of the least fun shopping expeditions.  Most people either use the agent their parents used, or a friend recommended, or someone they found in the yellow pages.

That doesn’t really feel like shopping at all.  It’s more like putting an expensive order in, for something that is pretty darn important, but you are in the dark about the value.  And using the methods described, a person doesn’t really know if they are paying too much.

Everyone’s coverage is different so there is very little way to compare what your friends are paying versus what you pay.

Not only is insurance coverage complex, but there are many types of insurances to buy. There is life, long term care, homeowners, health and auto insurance.  That’s a lot of shopping.  Plus insurances such as life and long term care have sub-types of coverage that you need to choose. And it can’t be minimized; this is a very important purchase, one that is designed to keep you out of financial disaster.

Fortunately, with the advent of the internet, now you can shop for insurance and know you are getting the best rates from competing sources.  The internet has changed the landscape for insurance, and now people can be more informed about how prices vary between different carriers and agents’ offers.

If you use one of the shopping services, you enter one application and the service finds agents in your area that can sell to you.  Then they give you the price you’d have to pay for the application you have just made. You compare all the different prices and pick the one you like best (sometimes you might prefer the style of the agent, or something else, besides just price).  But the beauty of this service is now you know what you are paying and what other agents would be charging you for the same coverage.

So go ahead—shop for insurance with confidence.