For the fifth consecutive year, Baltimore Life is a proud supporter of the industry-wide Life Insurance Awareness Month campaign during the month of September.

There's a lot of talk these days about financial crises: the retirement savings crisis...the crisis of 47 million Americans without health insurance...the subprime mortgage crisis. These crises may get the biggest headlines, but there’s another one that’s just as troubling.: the crisis of too many Americans not having adequate life insurance coverage.

According to LIMRA International, 68 million adult Americans have no life insurance at all and those with coverage have far less than most experts recommend to ensure a secure financial future for their families. In fact, ownership of life insurance has been declining for decades and the impact is being felt in very human terms today. When a loved one dies without adequate life insurance coverage, surviving family members often face very difficult financial consequences like having to work additional jobs or longer hours, borrow money from friends and family, move to smaller, less expensive housing, or put plans for a child’s education on hold.

With so many Americans in a financially vulnerable situation today, the life insurance industry has created a month-long public awareness campaign aimed at encouraging the public to take stock of their life insurance needs. Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM) is an industry-wide effort coordinated by the nonprofit LIFE Foundation. Each year, LIFE is joined in this educational initiative by more than 100 of the nation’s leading insurance companies and other industry groups. All share the same objective: to end the unnecessary financial suffering that so often occurs when a loved one dies.

Why devote an entire month to life insurance awareness? The following video is presented courtesy of the LIFE Foundation and further explains why this awareness program is so valuable.

If you have any doubts as to how your family would manage without you, it's time for a life insurance check-up. Talk to a qualified life insurance professional—someone who will take the time to understand your financial goals and needs, and help guide you through the purchasing process.