BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Protective Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Protective Life Corporation, today announced it is supporting Life Insurance Awareness Month in September with a variety of educational tools delivered through its extended online channels, independent agents, ‘mommy bloggers’ and even social media events.

“Research shows that individuals understand the need for life insurance. Yet they continually focus on shorter-term financial priorities, perhaps because they think life insurance is too complicated or too expensive,” said Frank Sottosanti, Protective’s chief marketing officer.

“This campaign is designed to educate,” he continued. “We want to provide resources for people to be able to confidently answer questions like, ‘How much life insurance do I need?’ and ‘What’s the difference between term life insurance and permanent life insurance?’ It’s often the basic questions that keep people from protecting their families.”

The outreach effort will leverage Protective’s library of nearly 400 financial education articles and online tools. Protective is also providing educational material to their network of more than 80,000 independent agents. In addition, Protective will collaborate with influential parenting bloggers from around the country to drive awareness of the need for and the affordability of life insurance through the company’s social channels and bloggers’ personal networks. The campaign will kick off on September 8^th at noon CT with an online “Twitter Party,” with bloggers sharing stories and educational materials via the hashtag #IAMPROTECTIVE.

Protective already reaches more than three million consumers a month through their communities in Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube and Pinterest. By collaborating with independent bloggers, they will be able to reach a wider audience of consumers with both general financial education and life insurance materials.

Protective’s online educational library includes information on the different types of life insurance, calculators to determine how much life insurance someone might need and general budgeting, college and retirement planning articles.

Protective’s efforts coordinate with national Life Insurance Awareness month, an education and awareness campaign developed by the non-profit Life Happens, in conjunction with more than 140 of the nation’s leading insurance companies and industry groups. This year, the national campaign will also feature celebrity spokesperson and comedian Anthony Anderson and his personal story on life insurance.

ABOUT PROTECTIVE LIFE

Protective Life Corporation is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. The Company provides financial services through the production, distribution and administration of insurance and investment products throughout the United States. It has annual revenue of approximately $4.4 billion and as of December 31, 2014, had assets of approximately $70.5 billion.

For more information on Protective Life, please visit www.protective.com.

Supplemental Information

Basic Facts about Consumers and Life Insurance Purchases

According to the 2015 Life Insurance Barometer Study, which is jointly produced by the industry trade group LIMRA and the non-profit Life Happens, less than 60 percent of US adults have life insurance. This means more than 100 million Americans are without life insurance coverage either through an employer or through an individual policy. The Barometer Study also indicates that half of American households would feel the financial impact of the loss of the primary wage earner in less than a year. Forty-three percent would notice the impact within six months, with 29 percent indicating they would notice the loss in income within a month.

According to this study most Americans continue to put other financial priorities ahead of purchasing life insurance; however, those priorities vary by generation:

• 29 percent of millennials cited saving for vacation as a priority over purchasing some or more life insurance,
• 23 percent of Gen Xers said paying for recreational activities such as going out to eat, movies or shopping was a priority over purchasing some or more life insurance,
• 49 percent of those 65 and older cited paying for expenses such as Internet, cable and cell phones as a priority over purchasing some or more life insurance, and
• 60 percent of millennials said the same.

The 2015 research indicates that cost is the reason most Americans give for not owning life insurance. Yet, 80 percent of consumers misjudge the price for term life insurance, with millennials overestimating the cost by 213 percent, and Gen Xers overestimating the cost by 119 percent.

About Life Happens

Life Happens is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping consumers take personal financial responsibility through the ownership of life insurance and related products. The organization does not endorse any product, company or insurance advisor. Since its inception in 1994, Life Happens has provided the highest quality, independent and objective information for people seeking help with their insurance buying decisions. The organization supports the insurance industry by providing marketing tools and resources and convening the industry each September for Life Insurance Awareness Month. Life Happens is supported by more than 140 of the nation’s leading insurance company and financial services organizations. To learn more, visit www.lifehappens.org.