September Edition

Since 2004, September has been designated as Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM).¹ This year marks LIAM's 15th anniversary, featuring celebrity spokesperson Brooke Shields – and the theme: "It's not for you, it's for them."

The nonprofit Life Happens launched the annual campaign to help Americans take personal financial responsibility through the ownership of life insurance and related products, including disability and long-term care insurance.

LIAM is an ideal time for employers to educate their employees about the five compelling reasons families should consider life insurance – so they can make informed benefits election decisions:

1. It’s not for the buyer; it’s for their loved ones: Technically, people purchase life insurance for loved ones left behind. Insurance helps pay for both short- and long-term needs, as well as protect businesses.
2. Life insurance isn't as expensive as most think: Most people overestimate the true cost of life insurance; 44 percent of millennials think it costs more than five times what it actually does.¹ Employers negotiate group rates, which can be a good deal.
3. If people wait too long to acquire insurance, they might not qualify: For more than a decade, heart disease and cancer have claimed the first and second spots as the leading causes of deaths in America.² Many leave significant medical bills behind. If individuals wait until they’re diagnosed with a serious illness, it's often too late to qualify for life insurance.
4. Life insurance can be an additional source of funds: Some life insurance policies accumulate cash value that can be used throughout one's life to withdraw funds when needed.
5. Life insurance can help people leave a legacy: Policyholders can leave funds to their family members, as well as institutions or charities.

LIAM also provides financial services professionals with a suite of materials called Life Happens Pro. Corporate benefits and HR professionals can use videos, flyers and social media graphics to engage employees about life insurance benefits.

One video is especially impactful – telling the true story of a Minnesota family’s loss and perseverance when a loved one died unexpectedly from cancer. Securian Financial life insurance provided the Conklins with the means to move on and launch a nonprofit to help others fight colorectal cancer.

There’s also many life insurance tools benefits managers can share with employees to help them decide what's right for them. For example, an online Securian Financial calculator estimates how much insurance a person should have based upon significant expenses like house and vehicle payments, recurring monthly expenses, and income and assets.

September’s here. This is a perfect opportunity to take advantage of LIAM’s resources to educate employees about why they should consider life insurance if they don’t have it yet. Or help those who do evaluate whether they have the right amount of life insurance for their family.

At Securian Financial we’re always here to help employers communicate with employees.