LIFE Announces 2010 realLIFEstories Award Recipients to Honor Exceptional Client Service in Times of Financial Need

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the nonprofit LIFE Foundation announced the recipients of its fifteenth annual realLIFEstories Client Service Awards Program, which recognizes insurance professionals for their outstanding service to families or individuals at times of great financial need.  This year's four award recipients are featured in a special section in the Sept. 20, 2010 issue of Newsweek magazine, which hits newsstands today. Additionally, they will be honored alongside their clients at a main stage presentation at the annual conference of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) in Seattle, Wash.

For the first time, the realLIFEstories program at the NAIFA conference will be simulcast live via the Web, giving producers who are unable to attend a chance to experience the event from their home or office. The webcast can be accessed starting at 1:20 p.m. EDT on September 13 at www.livestream.com/realLIFEstories. There is no cost or pre-registration required.  

"Our realLIFEstories are a powerful reminder of how unpredictable life can be and why it's so important for Americans to include life and disability insurance in their financial plans," said Marvin H. Feldman, CLU, ChFC, RFC, president and CEO of LIFE. "Too many Americans lack adequate insurance protection, and we hope these stories inspire producers to work harder than ever to help people in their communities to get the coverage they need to protect their loved ones."  

The 2010 realLIFEstories honorees are:

• Chad Gregorini, insurance agent, State Farm Insurance, Pittsburgh, Pa. When Stephen Mayhle, a rookie police officer, contacted his new insurance agent wanting to cancel a life insurance policy, his agent pushed back saying he needed more coverage, not less. Stephen's decision to take his agent's advice has made a huge difference for his wife, Shandra, and their two young daughters. In 2009, Stephen and two other officers were killed responding to a domestic disturbance. His life insurance has provided Shandra with financial stability, allowing her to remain a stay-at-home mom until her kids get a little older.  

• James Hasley, CFP, CLU, ChFC, insurance agent, MassMutual, Maitland, Fla. A horrific car accident left Bill Reid, 32, in a coma for five weeks, and lucky to be alive. The brain trauma he suffered left him with chronic, short-term memory loss, making it impossible for him to return to work. Fortunately, he had planned ahead with his agent and brother-in-law, James Hasley. His individual and group disability insurance policies, along with Social Security disability benefits, will provide him with an income until age 65, enabling him to remain in his home and support himself financially.

• Jim Loken, ChFC, FIC, financial representative, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Lancaster, Calif. When Bill Hobson was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in 2003, he knew the road ahead would be difficult physically and emotionally. But Bill's illness and eventual passing in 2009 did not devastate his family financially, thanks to smart insurance planning. Short- and long-term disability insurance through his employer helped the family make ends meet when Bill could no longer work. Through a group life insurance program administered by MetLife, Bill had a benefit of one times his annual salary in life insurance benefits and he bought supplemental coverage to increase the benefit to three times his salary. Bill also owned an individual life insurance policy through Allstate. Jim Loken, Bill's financial advisor, has helped turn the death benefits from Bill's various policies and his pension and 401(k) into an income stream that has provided financial security and stability for Bill's wife Connie and their three college-age daughters.

• Helen Rodriguez-Burton, insurance agent, Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, Amarillo, Texas. Kara Butcher decided to buy life insurance when her husband, John, needed a life-saving liver transplant. Kara was doing everything for John during that time, and his illness made her wonder how John and their son, Tre, would manage if something happened to her. One year later, Kara died almost instantly from an undiagnosed heart condition called cardiac tamponade. The proceeds from the term life insurance policy that Kara had purchased at work from insurance agent Helen Rodriguez-Burton have allowed John to remain in the couple's home and to focus on adjusting to his new life as a working, single dad.  

New this year, the LIFE realLIFEstories Newsweek special section also includes the story of a family who suffered a loss but did not have any life insurance.

• Adel Abouelnaga and his wife, Mahassen, moved to the United States from Egypt in search of a better life. They were living the American Dream – a successful souvenir business in mid-town Manhattan, five boys and a comfortable apartment they owned in Queens – when Adel was diagnosed with lymphoma. When he died nine months later, life quickly became a struggle. With no life insurance to help with the transition, the family was forced to close the business and sell its inventory to pay for Adel's funeral. They sold their apartment and moved into a small two-bedroom apartment. The three teenage boys became the family's primary breadwinners, working long hours while continuing their high school studies. It has now been three years since Adel died. The family remains in a financially precarious situation, and can only wonder how things might have turned out differently if Adel had had adequate life insurance.  

"For every person who dies with adequate life insurance coverage, there are probably several others who die with little or no coverage, and these stories need to be told too," said Feldman. "A new LIMRA study found that there are 11 million U.S. households with children under the age of 18 that don't have any life insurance coverage at all and that's simply unacceptable. By telling stories that underscore the need for proper planning, our hope is to get underinsured families to take steps to protect their loved ones before it's too late."  

To be considered for LIFE's realLIFEstories Client Service Award, insurance professionals must submit an application and essay describing how insurance benefited one of their clients at a time of great financial need.

The award recipients are selected by an independent panel of judges. This year's panel included Richard Smith, Chairman of Newsweek, Inc., Dr. Terri Vaughan, CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Representative Robert Damron (KY), President of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators, Eugene Koster, J.D., CLU, Managing Director of DeHayes Consulting Group, and Brian Anderson, Editor of Life Insurance Selling magazine.

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