Actress Leslie Bibb to Serve as National Spokesperson for Life Insurance Awareness Month

ARLINGTON, Va., July 19 /PRNewswire/ -- This fall, actress Leslie Bibb will partner with the nonprofit LIFE Foundation by serving as the national spokesperson for Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM). Bibb, whose recent credits include roles in films such as Iron Man 2, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, will share her story of how life insurance benefited her family after her father died in a work-related accident at age 39. After the accident, Bibb's mother was faced with having to raise four girls on her own. Her mother continued to work to provide for her daughters, but her financial situation was greatly eased by the proceeds from her husband's life insurance. With money not being a major concern, Bibb's mother was able to focus on keeping the family together and meeting her daughters' everyday needs.

"My father never thought he'd die at such a young age, but he loved his family enough to expect the unexpected," said Bibb. "His life insurance was his legacy of love to our family, allowing us to carry on with our lives and to continue living. Some people think it's morbid to anticipate the worst. Well, sometimes the worst happens and thankfully for my family, my father had planned ahead. I'm proud to be working with the LIFE Foundation to share my story and to encourage Americans to plan for the 'what ifs' in life."

Beginning in August, Bibb's story will be broadcast nationally in TV and radio public service announcements (PSAs). The PSAs will also be available on LIFE's website during the September campaign at www.lifehappens.org.

LIFE Announces LIAM Theme

In addition to engaging Bibb, LIFE will coordinate a variety of communications and marketing efforts leading up to and throughout LIAM to get Americans thinking about their need for life insurance. LIFE's theme for the 2010 campaign will be the "Wonders of Life," a theme it first introduced during LIAM 2009.

"People work very hard to provide a good life for their loved ones, and they don't want that quality of life to come to a halt if something were to happen to them," said Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, president and CEO of the LIFE Foundation. "The 'Wonders of Life' theme is all about making sure your family will have the kind of life you always hoped they'd have, even if you're not around to witness it."

The LIFE Foundation has a microsite, located at www.wondersoflife.org, where consumers can learn how life insurance can help preserve the quality of life of their loved ones. The site also contains links to useful resources, such as a Life Insurance Needs Calculator to help consumers determine how much life insurance they might need (www.lifehappens.org/lifecalculator).

LIFE's Plans for LIAM 2010

LIFE is planning a number of awareness-building strategies for the September campaign including:

• Facebook Application and Contest: LIFE will introduce an application that will allow Facebook users to create a slideshow set to music that showcases the most important people and things in their lives. The application is designed to get people thinking about how life insurance can protect what matters most to them, and the person who submits the best slideshow will win a 5-day getaway vacation to Aruba.
• realLIFEstories in Newsweek: In the September 20, 2010 issue of Newsweek, LIFE will once again feature true stories that illustrate how life and disability insurance provided financial relief to families at their time of greatest need.
• Mom and Dad Blogger Outreach: LIFE will partner with several parenting blogger networks to deliver its messages to moms and dads with dependent children.
• Aggressive Outreach to the Consumer News Media: In partnership with LIMRA International, LIFE plans to share with the media new data regarding life insurance ownership in America.

For more information about LIAM and LIFE's plans for the September campaign, visit www.lifehappens.org/liam or contact Jon Dressner at [email protected].

About Life Insurance Awareness Month

Life Insurance Awareness Month was created by the LIFE Foundation in 2004 in response to growing concern about the large number of Americans who lack adequate life insurance protection. According to LIMRA International, 68 million adult Americans have no life insurance, and most with coverage have far less than most experts recommend. Held each September, Life Insurance Awareness Month is an industry-wide effort involving hundreds of leading companies and thousands of insurance advisors.

About LIFE

The Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE) was founded in 1994 in response to the public's growing need for information and education on life, health, disability and long-term care insurance. LIFE also seeks to remind people of the important role insurance professionals perform in helping families, businesses and individuals find the insurance products that best fit their needs. To learn more about these topics, please visit www.lifehappens.org.

SOURCE LIFE Foundation