September is LIAM

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month or LIAM, a campaign initiated by Life Happens, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate consumers about life insurance and its role in protecting families’ financial securities. 

Life Happens, in collaboration with LIMRA  (Life Insurance and Market Research Association), found that there is a big coverage gap among Americans when it comes to life insurance.
While up to 70% of those surveyed in 2021 said they need life insurance, only 52% have it. According to LIMRA, 42% of Americans will face financial hardship within six months if the primary wage earner were to die unexpectedly. 

Click here for more stats about life insurance.

Why do we buy life insurance?

It was a beautiful wedding. The couple’s daughter was married at the family home. The wedding reception was held in their backyard. While the guests laughed, ate, and drank, the father of the bride took his daughter aside to impart some wisdom to his child before she embarked on her new journey. As he turned to speak, he collapsed. He died immediately of a massive heart attack. 

Years before he walked his daughter down the aisle, the father realized his family depended on the money from his business, and that income would need to be replaced when he was gone. He loved his family deeply and wanted to take care of them no matter what the circumstances.

He invested in life insurance through his company. Because of his planning and act of love, the life insurance provided money to help pay for his daughter’s wedding, provide an income for his widow, and help his family wind down his business. 

We buy life insurance because we love someone.

When get married, and we bring a child into the world. We have to take time to plan and protect those we promised to protect. 

Too often people have not taken the time to plan for the unexpected. They haven’t stopped to think, “What will happen to my family if something happens to me and I can no longer provide for them?”

We buy life insurace because people depend on us to do right by them.

Bringing it up in conversation with someone who needs it because they have a family, a home, or a business, can go a long way in helping them take that first step- think about how to take care of their loved ones not only now while they’re able to, but also when they are not able to. 

Life insurance, especially one with living benefits, can create replacement income to keep families from worrying about their day-to-day bills. It can pay off mortgage or other existing debt, fund educational goals or pay down student loans, and supplement a retirement income. 

We buy life insurance because we take care of business.

In business, life insurance can help cover the cost of running the business in the absence of a key person or owner due to an unexpected death or illness. Life insurance may be used to hire and train a replacement for the key person.

It can be used to pay debts owed by the business, make good on a promised deferred compensation, or buy out the stock or share of the key person from his estate. 

This month of September, let’s help one another obtain that peace of mind from having taken care of those who truly matter. Get them thinking about life insurance! 

Fun Fact: Singer and songwriter Kelly Rowland is this year’s spokesperson for LIAM. Last year it was Brooke Shields. 

Do you have any questions about how Living Benefits can help your family during a medical crisis?  To find out more schedule a meeting with me.

What Dignity Planning Means:

I help you plan to ensure you live in dignity throughout your life until your last breath.

Living in dignity means

• Being able to focus on getting better because money is not an issue
• Being able to live comfortably and pay your mortgage even if you’re sick and can’t work
• Being able to take care of your sick family member because you can afford not to work
• Being able to afford the best care even when not covered by health insurance
• Living a quality of life until your last days
• Continuing to take care of the people who matter most even after you’re gone or no longer can work

Ask Sheilla

Q: I read I’m supposed to have 6 months’ worth of living expenses saved in case of an emergency. Should I save that first before buying life insurance? 

A: Thank you for asking this question. Many are wondering about this. Let me share with you my personal story.

I was trying to do this myself years ago. It was a slow process and one that required I work constantly in order to save more every month. I burned myself out after many months, with not much to show for.

I was at my breaking point when an agent educated me about life insurance with living benefits. He showed me that I could use the insurance money to help cover bills and expenses if I got sick for a while and couldn’t work. An unexpected illness especially one that prevents you from working is one of those emergencies that have a lasting impact.

So my advice is yes, keep beefing up your savings, but also take life insurance with living benefits that are within your ability to afford.

It is my belief that life insurance isn’t a luxury, it is an asset and a necessity. Especially if you don’t have enough savings for emergencies.

Life insurance is more affordable than what people think. I can help you find a plan that will fit your budget and your needs. And that plan can grow as your finances do. Don’t leave your family at risk when they need you most.

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Sheilla Vidal is a Retirement Income Certified Professional RICP® and life insurance broker. Sheilla is also a physical therapist, wife, mother of two, and one of the caregivers for her 85-year-old father. She is an avid learner.  She writes, speaks, and recognizes that her work in helping clients live with dignity is her God-given mission.