Marvin Feldman Needs You: Life Insurance Awareness Month

Marvin Feldman, president of Life Happens, is back with the 16th annual Life Insurance Awareness Month campaign, and he needs your help.

Interest rates may be rising but are still low. Pressure on life insures is high.

And tens of millions of Americans still need help with getting their finances in order, including help with understanding the importance of

Some companies are supporting Life Insurance Awareness Month more this year, and some less, but, in general, "the companies are very concerned about their overall profitability," Feldman said.

Insurers are cutting support for all industry organizations, and, because the kinds of executives who work with industry organizations may hold the relevant posts for just a few years, a group like Life Happens has to refresh its relationship with each insurer every few years, Feldman said.

"We've really tried to listen to what the agents, advisors and companies have asked us to do for them," Feldman said. "We have to earn the companies' and the agents' support."

Thanks to Life Happens' efforts to make insurers and financial professionals aware of the Life Insurance Awareness Month efforts, 140 insurers are supporting the 2018 campaign and making campaign resources available to tens of thousands of affiliated financial professionals.

About 10,000 agents have obtained their own Life Insurance Awareness Month supporter listings, and about 1,000 have paid extra for premium resource access.

Feldman said Life Happens has tried to appeal to insurers and agents by making its materials easier to use.

This year, for example, all of the resources available are fully digital.

Life Happens has also broadened the focus of Life Insurance Awareness Month somewhat, by making the theme of the 2018 month campaign the "financial journey," rather than simply the need for life insurance, or the need for financial fitness.

The "financial journey" metaphor reflects the idea that people need to do many important things in life, including buying life insurance, Feldman said.

Agents' Help

Feldman said one thing Life Happens needs is help with learning about compliance problems agents face when they try to use Life Happens' materials.

Too often, Feldman said, agents run Life Happens materials by their compliance people, get something other than a clear approval to use the materials, and give up on trying to use the materials.

If agents tell Life Happens about those kinds of problems, Life Happens will talk to the compliance people and adapt, Feldman said.

"We make materials compliance-friendly," Feldman said.

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