AIP Marketing Alliance knows. Whether it’s Hank Williams Jr. singing or an independent agent selling, life insurance doesn’t really resound as much as the kickoff on the gridiron in September that tends to jam up our Fall evenings and weekends.

Today’s players use training camp to prepare for their games through many practices and repetitions to hone their skills. They also understand the need for protection as they wear helmets, shoulder pads, and other gear, so they will be able to play the game they love and earn the paycheck the players’ and their loved ones’ need.

September is Life Insurance Awareness Month (#LIAM26) and the perfect time to huddle up with your clients, design a playbook for their #retirementplanning and legacy, and become the offensive line needed to protect their savings from the unexpected blitzes caused by today’s economy.

Before AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, shares our playbook – let’s talk about Life Happens, which created and coordinates the Life Insurance Awareness Month (LIAM) campaign every September. This year’s LIAM campaign theme is… Life insurance is for real life, and the Life Happens website provides a consumer-focused life insurance needs calculator here.

Independent Agents’ 2026 LIAM Playbook

Before you go on offense with your clients and prospects, you may need a life insurance playbook full of different ideas to work against their defensive nature. They could say how life insurance is too expensive, how they already have life insurance from a decade ago, or whether they receive life insurance through their current employer or spouse’s employer.

How do you tackle these questions? The first step involves pre-snap reads. Like most quarterbacks, you want to assess the defense and read what the defense is giving you. Do you slowly, methodically run different ideas at them or do you break down their defenses with small nuggets of information?

Most of the time, you don’t want to throw a “Hail Mary” right away. Consumers want to do their research online through social media or an AI application as analytical data seems to be important for consumers making changes to a retirement strategy.

According to the 2026 LIMRA Barometer Study, 18% of life insurance owners state they do not have enough coverage, and 29% of non-owners say they need life insurance. The study also states how the perceived cost of life insurance is the top barrier to purchasing life insurance and take into consideration that more than 25% of Gen Z/Millennials cite “lack of knowledge” as a reason for not buying life insurance.

Now that you know a bit more about your opponent’s defense, let’s talk about ways to show them potential gaps in their retirement planning. That’s where AIP Marketing Alliance opens more opportunities for you by adding #TheRightMIXin26 to your Life Insurance Awareness Month playbook.

• 2026 LIAM Campaigns: These compliant resources created internally by AIPMA and Integrity Life & Annuities provide statistics, rationale, and a common-sense approach to the purpose of life insurance for your clients. We have social media, email marketing, and videos to support your sales strategy to educate clients and prospects throughout September and beyond. AIPMA also leverages our more than 80 carrier relationships and their LIAM-focused campaigns for additional educational tools. Contact us at marketing@aipma.com for these resources.
• Life Insurance Policy Review (LIPR): Once a year, the LIPR provides consumers with an assessment of their current life insurance policy, and whether a change would make sense for their best interests. Carriers have adapted products by adding in more living benefits (i.e., riders, LTC provisions, etc.) vs. the “leaving a legacy” reasoning most consumers believe life insurance provides for them and their loved ones. AIPMA has a three-part whitepaper series and forms to help you set this up with your clients and prospects. Contact us for the whitepapers!
• Carriers and Products: Like stated above, AIP Marketing Alliance is aligned with multiple nationwide insurance carriers, which gives you and your clients options for life insurance products (term, permanent, IUL, etc.). What is your client looking to defend against in the future? Inflation? Unforeseen expenses? Long-Term Care? Rising Healthcare Costs? Odds are with you and AIPMA as we should be able to find a product to align with their defensive retirement planning.
• Diagram the Plays: Don’t wait until your appointment to talk strategies. Agents have access to multiple life insurance tools through AIPMA to design illustrations based on the client’s information. While your initial game plan may not find holes in their defense, you can call an audible and pivot during the appointment as needed if you plan ahead.
• “Hail Mary”: Some consumers do not qualify for traditional life insurance products. They also may not have the income to purchase an annuity to offset health issues or lifestyle habits that sack their life insurance application. Remember how AIPMA wrote about the “Hail Mary?” Well, final expense insurance is an option when all else fails. This product typically does not require a medical exam and can provide up to $25,000 (depending on carrier/product) of coverage if your clients or prospects have run out of options for legacy planning.

In the end, you want your valued clients to win in the game of life and aligning their protection and life insurance coverage with their team needs is important. Sometimes, their game plan is winning and nothing needs to be done. Other times, life events could unlock a potential change or need for more life insurance coverage. However, your role as their financial coach involves confirming their retirement playbook succeeds in doing that.

Take time during Life Insurance Awareness Month to check in with your clients and their team. Share AIP Marketing Alliance’s resources to educate them on life insurance.

Your AIPMA home team is ready to help as needed. Contact our Business Development team at (800) 783-5206 Press #2 or marketing@aipma.com. We’ll gladly share our #LIAM26 playbook and carrier resources to help make September educational and informational for your valued customers and prospects.

We are #TheRightMIXin26 for independent insurance wholesalers and agents. For more than 40 years, AIP Marketing Alliance (AIPMA), an Integrity Company, serves as a premier life insurance and annuity distribution partner to provide full-service support to independent wholesalers, brokerages and agents from our Troy, Michigan office. NOT AFFILIATED WITH OR ENDORSED BY THE GOVERNMENT OR THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.

AIP Marketing Alliance is committed to supporting our independent insurance wholesalers and agents. Visit our blog on aipma.com to stay informed on these upcoming launches and learn why wholesalers nationwide choose AIPMA as their distributor for selling life insurance, annuities, long-term care insurance, final expense, and much more. Ask about lead programs, access to IntegrityCONNECT’s technology, myAIP CRM platform with customizable recruiter portal, and online tools/resources designed to grow your business. The difference is personal.

AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, has developed this electronic communication for informational and educational use only. Be advised, AIP Marketing Alliance, Inc., does not provide legal advice, tax advice, or guidance on issues involving securities laws, insurance laws nor securities or insurance regulations. This material should not be relied on as providing any such advice or guidance to either agents or retail consumers. Within this communication, AIPMA shares links for usage as information only. This content should not be interpreted as solicitation to purchase life insurance, annuities, or other products or as advice designed to meet your clients’ specific needs. Content involving fiduciary, tax, or legal advice should be directed to your legal, tax, and financial professionals for specific advice or product recommendations. AIPMA will not accept any legal liability resulting from any use of 3rd party material(s).