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Ms. Shannon was just four years old when she was in a car accident thattook the lives of her 33-year-old mother, her cousin and younger sister. Ms.Shannon survived the crash, along with her father and older sister, but herfather was badly injured in the accident and was unable to work for severalyears. Her mother, a school teacher, didn't have any life insurance coverage,which could have helped alleviate some of the family's financial strain. Eventoday, Ms. Shannon remembers the sacrifices her dad had to make in order toprovide for his two daughters.
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"The accident changed our lives dramatically. In an instant, my dad becamea single parent and the only breadwinner for our family. Even at a young age,I was well aware of the financial and emotional stress he was under," shesaid. "People don't like to think about bad things happening to them, butputting off the decision to deal with that possibility can have seriousconsequences."
Married with two young children, Ms. Shannon considers life insurance anecessity that enables her to live her life with peace of mind, knowing thather loved ones will be taken care of no matter what the future holds. "Mypersonal experience led me to start thinking about life insurance when I firstbecame pregnant. Now I can't imagine not having it in place as a financialsafety net for my family," she said.
Ms. Shannon plans to share her story during September through publicappearances and interviews with newspapers, magazines and radio and televisionstations around the country. A video message from Ms. Shannon can be seen onLIFE's website at www.lifehappens.org throughout the campaign. In addition,she will help boost industry excitement for Life Insurance Awareness Month atthe annual convention of the National Association of Insurance and FinancialAdvisors in Washington, D.C., on September 10, 2007. That same day, she willjoin industry representatives and notable lawmakers at a reception on CapitolHill to emphasize the importance of public policy that encourages Americans topurchase life insurance.
"Molly's story is a prime example of how life insurance could have made ahuge difference for a family had it been in place before tragedy struck," saidDavid F. Woods, CLU, ChFC, LUTCF, president of the LIFE Foundation. "Nofamily should have to experience tough financial consequences on top of theemotional strain that comes when a loved one dies, yet 68 million adultAmericans do not have any life insurance and millions more lack adequateprotection. We are delighted that Molly is lending her voice to encourageAmericans to take action now to get the life insurance coverage they need toprotect their families."
In addition to securing Ms. Shannon's participation in Life InsuranceAwareness Month, LIFE will spend millions of dollars in September to helpeducate consumers about the benefits of life insurance and working with aqualified insurance professional. LIFE will sponsor a series of radio publicservice announcements, post new life insurance content on its website andblog, conduct aggressive outreach to the consumer news media, and spendmillions on online and print advertising, including the annual realLIFEstoriesspecial section in the September 10, 2007 issue of Newsweek. LIFE will alsoannounce the winners of its third annual LIFE Lessons Essay Contest, a collegescholarship program in which students write essays and submit videosrecounting the financial and emotional impact of
