How LIAM can help you

The media campaign will be in full swing during September when Shannon will share her story through national television, radio and print media. She will give a video message to the industry and a speech on September 10 at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors annual convention in Washington.

LIFE will also spend several million dollars educating consumers about life insurance and the importance of obtaining financial advice from insurance professionals by sponsoring a series of public-service radio announcements and print and online advertising including a Newsweek supplement: "Real LIFE Stories."

Brian Ashe of Brian Ashe & Associates Ltd., in Lisle, Ill., has participated in LIAM since its inception. "It's a good opportunity to educate clients and prospects, participate with the national campaign and co-brand my practice with it," Ashe says, who has more than 2,000 clients and is a past president of The Million Dollar Round Table.

"It has raised the profile of my business," Ashe adds, who also regularly networks with local accountants, attorneys and a nearby property-and-casualty agency. "People have become more aware and receptive to my message, which is to help consumers understand how essential life insurance is and to be aware of its benefits. This is very consistent with how I want my practice to be recognized."

Ashe utilizes ad slicks as well as LIFE's "Real LIFE Stories" DVD to help further educate clients and prospects. He says the 4-5 minute scenarios have been "very favorably received" by clients. He's also a proponent of wearing LIFE's "Life Happens" blue-and-orange bracelet, relying on it as a "conversation starter" that has the benefit of spontaneity behind it. "People notice it," he says. "When they do, it naturally leads to a talk about risks and is a reminder to protect one's dependents."

Taking the effort to participate in LIAM, Ashe says, also demonstrates a level of concern and knowledge clients cannot receive when using an Internet-based insurance quoting service.

"It's a myth that Internet-provided insurance quotes are cheap," Ashe says. "An agent can help them get a much better idea of the rates and what's being covered. Insurance is a complex product with many implications and options. An agent can coordinate it as part of an estate plan and to do this, wisdom, knowledge and experience are needed."

Raising awareness

LIAM was designed four years ago to increase consumer awareness and since then has created many agent resources to educate clients and prospects, says Marvin Feldman, CLU and ChFC, of Feldman Financial Services, which has offices in East Liverpool, Ohio, and Clearwater, Fla. "It provides a third-party, unbiased opinion as no companies are involved in its material," Feldman says.

Feldman, chairman of LIFE's board of directors and a past president of MDRT, has 40 years of industry experience, and with more than 3,000 clients, admits he is "still learning" about this business. "We're in the business of solving problems," he says. "Advisors who utilize material such as this and coordinate it with their marketing efforts will find it's easier for the public to see the need of life insurance."

Feldman is particularly fond of LIFE's "heart monitor" radio ad. It discusses the need for protection with the beating of a heart monitor in the background. "Anyone can recognize that sound and it's striking when it stops."

More than 100 insurance companies and industry trade groups are participating in LIAM through such efforts as consumer advertising, direct marketing campaigns, web promotions, community seminars, producer-incentive programs and campaign signage in field offices. Many companies also use the month as an opportunity to remind their own employees about the importance of having adequate life insurance coverage. A partial list of participating insurance companies includes State Farm, AEGON, New York Life, Mass Mutual, John Hancock, Penn Mutual, Guardian, AXA, Principal Financial Group, Nationwide, Southern Farm Bureau, Country Financial, Farm Bureau Financial Services, Prudential, Allstate, The Hartford and Thrivent Financial.