Life Happens, a national nonprofit dedicated to educating consumers about the importance of life insurance and other related products for sound financial planning, announces today its partnership with actress, model, designer, and mother Brooke Shields to drive home the importance of life insurance as a financial priority to U.S. consumers.
Serving as an executor of a friend’s will, Brooke saw firsthand the unique challenges that arise when someone passes without life insurance. These experiences – coupled with a deep commitment to protecting her family financially – reinforced for Brooke the importance of life insurance and teaching her daughters about financial planning and how it is a key component of personal strength and independence. Through the partnership with Life Happens, her goal is to demonstrate both the financial and emotional benefits that come from prioritizing life insurance.
“Life insurance has given me peace of mind that, no matter the circumstance, my family is financially protected now and in the future,” said Brooke Shields. “This isn’t anything I was taught growing up. It’s a life lesson I learned on my own and want to share with others.”
Brooke also knows that life insurance isn’t something most people want to think about. “It may seem scary and even unattainable at first, but life insurance is much more affordable than most people realize, and the certainty it offers is invaluable,” she adds. “I’m thrilled to be supporting Life Happens by sharing the message about the value of life insurance so more people can protect their loved ones.”
The 2019 Life Insurance Barometer Study by Life Happens and LIMRA found that only 57 percent of Americans have life insurance, and four in 10 households without it would immediately struggle to pay living expenses if their primary wage earner died. The risk to a family’s financial stability if they forgo life insurance is incredibly high, and yet there are still many Americans who are living without it, leaving them vulnerable. Through its partnership with Brooke, Life Happens seeks to reverse this damaging trend by reinforcing the need for families to take long-term financial planning seriously, consider the benefits of life insurance, and take financial control now.
“Brooke truly understands the role of life insurance in investing in her children’s future, and like all parents, she wants to teach them about financial preparedness so that they can successfully navigate their own life journey,” said Faisa Stafford, President and Chief Financial Officer of Life Happens. “By sharing her experiences with life insurance and helping to highlight the educational resources we have for consumers, she’s supporting our efforts to encourage others to secure their family’s financial future with life insurance.”
As part of the partnership, Brooke will serve as the national spokesperson for Life Insurance Awareness Month, the annual awareness campaign coordinated by Life Happens and supported by the nation’s leading insurance companies and industry groups each September. Her story will be shared through a national TV and radio public service announcement (PSA) program that will begin broadcasting this summer and continue until the end of the year. The PSAs will be available on the Life Happens website, along with educational information and interactive tools such as Life Happens’ Life Insurance Needs Calculator to help consumers evaluate their own life insurance needs and get the protection they need.