Life Insurance Awareness Month

David Merriman Insurance Agency - State Farm Insurance makes the topic of life insurance a priority during September as well as year-round.

David Merriman, State Farm agent, reserves a place at his desk for you to help review your insurance needs.

Life insurance. It may begin with the word “life,” but ironically life is usually not what one thinks of when he or she hears those words. That may be one of the reasons so many people avoid thinking of or talking about life insurance, as if avoiding thinking of the inevitable will make it go away.

    That’s why the LIFE Foundation has set aside September as Life Insurance Awareness Month – and why David Merriman, State Farm agent and owner of David Merriman Agency in Claremore, makes sure that life insurance is a top priority topic all year-round. “In our office, we always ask about life insurance every time someone comes in, because we may be the only ones who ever do,” Merriman says. “I always knew life insurance would be a big part of my agency from the very beginning—we talk about it every day in my office.”

    Merriman doesn’t just discuss whether a client needs life insurance, but also helps him or her figure out how much life insurance is needed. “I encourage them to use a needs-analysis form found on www.statefarm.com that guides them through a series of questions,” Merriman says. “And I try to educate people on what they actually need.” He goes on to say that people often greatly underestimate what they need and are surprised when they look at questions and evaluate their situation realistically. For example, they must consider whether if they are the main wage earner, because then they are the biggest financial asset to the family. “What does a lifetime of earning mean to your family?” Merriman asks. He helps them look at interest rates, how much it would take to care for the family, and how much the surviving spouse would have to make to replace the lost income.

    When he speaks to clients about life insurance, Merriman finds that often they are not just uncomfortable with the subject because death is “out of sight, out of mind,” but also because they don’t feel like life insurance fits into their budget. But he points out that it is actually much more expensive in the long run to ignore life insurance, because of the burden left on the families of the deceased. “I have seen the devastation for families who never purchased any type of insurance,” he relates. “I’ve also delivered 20 death claim checks to families in my 13 years as an agent. The last things people want to think about during this time are ­financial worries.”

    David Merriman doesn’t just discuss life insurance with others. He considers it to be of paramount importance in his own life. “I have four children and my wife is a full-time ­mother and homemaker,” he says. “If something happens to me, I want them to know how much I loved them because I planned for their future, making sure the essentials, like clothing, food, home and education were provided for.”

    In fact, Merriman believes that purchasing a sound life insurance policy is one of the most selfless acts one could perform for his or her loved ones. “People don’t buy life insurance for themselves, they buy it because they love somebody,” he says. “Just ask yourself: who do you love?”

For more information, contact

David Merriman Insurance Agency - State Farm Insurance

(918) 342-3266

www.merrimanagency.net