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Starke Agency Spreads Awareness of Need for Life Insurance

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Montgomery, AL, August 8, 2009 — If you died tomorrow, how would your loved ones fare financially? It’s not a pleasant scenario to think about, but not doing so can have serious consequences. September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, and Brian Kasarjian, Vice President of Starke Life Agency, is asking people to think about their life insurance needs to ensure their families would be adequately protected if the worst were to happen.

”The fact is, most Americans need life insurance,” says Kasarjian. “If someone depends on you financially, you need life insurance. It’s that simple. Unfortunately, nearly 70 million adult Americans have no coverage at all, and most of those who do have far less coverage than financial experts recommend.”

Life insurance, Kasarjian points out, provides cash to your family after your death. Known as the death benefit, it can help your family pay for the funeral and other final expenses, eliminate credit-card balances and car loans, and provide loved ones with income to live on for a period of time.

Whether a person needs life insurance depends on his or her particular situation and financial objectives. For help determining if you need life insurance, Brian Kasarjian describes why coverage needs to be an important consideration for each of the following six scenarios:

• You’re Married. Married people share a life with one another, but also share financial obligations. If you died suddenly, would your surviving spouse have enough money to pay for your final expenses and buy time to adjust to a new way of life? Life insurance can help ensure that these financial goals will be met.
• You’re Married with Kids. Having kids is the most obvious reason to own life insurance. If you and your income were suddenly gone, would your spouse and kids be okay financially? Life insurance replaces lost income to help make sure those who depend on you will be provided for, no matter what life throws your way.
• You’re a Single Parent. As a single parent, you're the caregiver, breadwinner, cook, chauffeur, and so much more. You need to make doubly sure that you have safeguarded your children’s future in case you are no longer there to care for them. Make sure you have enough life insurance and designate who will take care of your children in case the unthinkable were to happen.
• You’re a Stay-at-Home Parent. Just because you don't bring home a paycheck doesn't mean you don't make contributions to your family that would be expensive to replace. If you were no longer there, could your spouse afford to pay someone to provide the childcare, transportation, cleaning, cooking and other household responsibilities that you handle everyday?
• You’re Approaching Retirement. The kids may be gone and the mortgage paid off, but that doesn't mean Social Security or your savings will necessarily take care of everything that lies ahead. If you died tomorrow, would your financial strategy, without insurance, enable your spouse to maintain the lifestyle that the two of you worked so hard to achieve?
• You’re a Small Business Owner. Life insurance can help protect your business in a number of ways in the event you, your partner, or a key employee dies prematurely. A buy-sell agreement funded with life insurance allows surviving business owners to buy the company interests of a deceased business owner at a previously agreed-on price. Key-person insurance can provide business owners with the flexibility to hire a replacement when the key employee dies.

“Life Insurance Awareness Month is the ideal time for a life insurance review,” says Kasarjian. “I urge everyone in the Montgomery area to take a few minutes out of their busy schedules this month to make sure their families would be okay financially if the worst were to happen.”

About Life Insurance Awareness Month
Held each September, Life Insurance Awareness Month is an industry-wide effort that is coordinated by the nonprofit Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education (LIFE). The campaign was created in response to growing concern about the large number of Americans who lack adequate life insurance protection. For more information on life insurance, visit LIFE’s website at www.lifehappens.org.

About Starke Agency, Inc.

Starke Agency, Inc. is an insurance brokerage and risk management company based in Montgomery, Alabama. For eight decades, Starke Agency has worked with businesses and individuals to ensure they are protected and have confidence moving forward. For more information about Starke Agency, Inc., visit www.starkeagency.com or call (334) 263-5535.