NAIFA-Florida has worked with the Governor's office on the LIAM issue and for the second year in a row Gov. Crist has proclaimed September as Life Insurance awareness Month. To view the Proclamation click here. We have also attached an Op/Ed we have distributed to Florida media below:

Gov. Crist highlights importance of life insurance

Bob Lotane, NAIFA-Florida

Gov. Charlie Crist has certainly not seen eye-to-eye with many stakeholders in the Florida insurance industry, and at times their disagreements have become quite heated. So it probably bears notice when the two sides come together on an issue in the interest of Floridians. This was the case recently as Gov. Crist proclaimed September as Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM).

In his proclamation Gov. Crist noted that a vast majority of Americans have some form of life insurance to safeguard their family’s financial security and provide relief in the event of tragedy. However, he also noted that nearly 68 million adult Americans have no life insurance protection or have less coverage than experts recommend. Additionally, the industry holds $5 trillion in assets, much of which is invested in many segments of the economy and billions is invested here in Florida. The industry paid out more than $58 billion to beneficiaries in 2007.

The fact is, each year a significant number of Americans (550,000) die prematurely. In fact, the chances a 25-year-old male will die before reaching the retirement age of 65 is nearly 1 in 5; for a female, the odds are 1 in 9. When a premature death occurs, insufficient life insurance coverage on the part of the insured results in 75 percent of surviving family members having to take measures to meet financial obligations, such as work additional jobs or longer hours, borrow money, withdraw money from savings and investment accounts, and, in too many cases, move to smaller, less expensive housing.

Effective life insurance can be bought for relative pennies on the dollar. While there is a wide array of coverage choices to fit virtually anyone’s individual needs, there are also many experienced advisors and agents to explain these choices and to offer guidance. It is never too soon to investigate these options, and we thank Gov. Crist for shining a light on this important issue.

Bob Lotane is Communications and Political Affairs Director with the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors – Florida. He can be reached at Lotane@faifa.org.

You can view Gov. Crist’s LIAM proclamation by clicking here.