During Disability Insurance Awareness Month (DIAM), LIFE’s goal is to get Americans thinking about their disability insurance needs and, hopefully, to motivate them to do something to address those needs. Here are some of the ways LIFE hopes to accomplish this objective.
Satellite Media Tour Featuring National Spokesperson
 LIFE’s DIAM spokesperson, April Holmes relates her story with the media to motivate consumers to seek disability income protection. In 2001, Holmes was involved in a rush-hour train accident in Philadelphia that left her leg amputated below the knee. A technician for a large communications company, April was unable to work for nine months. Fortunately, her employer’s disability income benefits gave her considerable peace of mind and time to think about new goals as a world-class paralympic athlete. We have created an April Holmes one-page flyer that details her story. To help those with disabilities, April has also created the April Holmes Foundation.
Bi-lingual Radio Media Tour
LIFE's DIAM spokesperson, April Holmes, will not be the only one who will take to the airwaves. Also during May, Matthew Tassey, CLU, ChFC , will talk about disability risk and the importance of disability income protection in interviews with radio stations across the country. That same day, LIFE spokesperson Jos Saldana will deliver the same messages to many of the nation’s Spanish-language radio stations.
Print Media Outreach
Throughout the year, LIFE reaches out to personal finance reporters at the nation’s leading print publications. During May, LIFE’s focus will be on story ideas relating to disability and disability insurance.
Advertising
LIFE spends millions of dollars each year on advertising aimed at getting Americans to take stock of their life insurance needs. In a May issue of Newsweek, LIFE will run a consumer print ad focused on the need for disability income protection. LIFE will soon unveil a series of ads for use by local associations of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). LIFE will subsidize the cost of placement for the ads.
Public Service Announcements
In April and May, LIFE will distribute audio PSAs to thousands of radio stations across America. Stations will be offered 2 sets of PSAs. One set will feature commentary from LIFE Spokesperson Marshall Gifford, who talks about disability risk and discusses the role disability insurance can play in helping people manage the financial consequences associated with a disabling illness or injury. The other PSAs will feature commentary from a person who has benefited from disability insurance. Each set of PSAs includes spots of the following duration: 60, 30, 20 and 15 seconds.
DIAM on the LIFE Website and Blog
During May, the homepage of LIFE’s website will feature a Disability Insurance realLIFEstory, a video message from the 2008 DIAM spokesperson, a link to LIFE’s Disability Needs Calculator, and consumer and industry information about the DIAM campaign. LIFE will also feature disability insurance content on its The Insurance Word Blog throughout the month.
Disability e-Cards
LIFE has developed a suite of electronic greeting cards, designed to give insurance professionals a new, cost-free way to communicate with people in their communities during DIAM and throughout the year. Three of the new e-Cards were developed specifically for use during the May campaign. You can access LIFE’s new e-Cards at www.insureyourfuturenow.org.
Web-based Seminars and Presentations
LIFE has conducted live webinars to motivate company participation in DIAM and offer ways to help producers in their sales and marketing efforts. Listen to the replays here:
Customizable News Releases for Agents
LIFE has created customizable news releases that agents can complete and submit to local media before and during the month of May. This is a great way for agents to get the word out about the importance of disability income insurance and promote their insurance expertise in their communities.
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