Agents Jeff Rutland, left, and Cindy Duncan are pictured with Agency Manager Norval Haile of Farm Bureau Insurance in Lampasas. September is Life Insurance Awareness Month. The following was submitted by Farm Bureau Insurance in Lampasas.

Almost everyone knows they need life insurance, but almost no one wants to buy it. That's understandable. No one likes to think about dying, so we procrastinate, make excuses or hope that we'll be one of the lucky ones who lives a long life.

But what if you're not one of the lucky ones? What if you haven't planned properly? The amount of life insurance you own is likely to determine whether those you love will have a financially secure future or will be confronted with years of financial hardship.

These are unsettling times. Over the past year, almost every pillar of our financial security has been shaken, one by one. The bursting of the real estate bubble, the precipitous decline in the stock market, a rapid spike in job losses. Now more than ever, Americans are searching for ways to maintain basic financial security.

One source of financial security still stands strong, however, and that's life insurance. It continues to do what it was designed to do -- serve as the foundation of your family's financial security.

If you own a life policy, the death benefit it would pay if you died tomorrow is unchanged from last week, last month or even last year. If you own a whole life policy, your death benefit also is guaranteed, and over the past year your cash values have actually grown, not declined. In this tumultuous economy, you can take comfort in knowing that life insurance -- whatever type you own or intend to buy -- can provide some certainty and stability at a time when both are in short supply.

To make sure Americans are reminded of the need to include life insurance in their financial plans, the nonprofit LIFE Foundation coordinates Life Insurance Awareness Month. Each September, LIFE is joined in this educational initiative by more than 100 of the nation's leading insurance companies, including Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance and other industry groups.

We strongly urge you to act by contacting an insurance professional who can help you safeguard your family's financial future. These professionals can help you determine how much life insurance you need and the type that will best meet your needs.