Choose Your Friends Carefully

Advocacy is defined in the dictionary asadvocacy. Maybe Minnesota Life's rates are high
"supporting or promoting the interests of another".because they have to pay the AOPA to steer
There are several "advocacy" groups thatbusiness their way.
promote life insurance to their members or to theAnd last but not least, our beloved AARP (being
group of people who they would suggest theyold enough to be a member myself). Claiming to
are advocates on behalf of.be an advocate for us elderly folks, and truly not
There are two groups of advocacy organizationsdoing it is, well, WRONG!!!!!!!!!! AARP pushes a New
that I believe need to rethink their approach toYork Life term product that is overpriced to start
life insurance. There are the organizations that dowith; the price goes up every 5 years, and after
a poor, or even misleading job of recommendingage 80 it goes away. "One that supports or
a life insurance carrier. Then there are thosepromotes the interests of another?" How can
organizations that purport to be advocates forthey recommend a product for us old folks that
people who are, due to their health problems, indisappears at age 80? Now I do not know if
special need of guidance and are not providingAARP gets a kickback from New York Life, but I
anything.do know that they do not allow any other life
I have a particular problem with three advocacyinsurance advertising in their periodicals or on their
groups that you would suspect would offer thewebsite.
best possible life insurance products to theirThe second group of advocacy organizations that
members or audience, when in fact they offerI believe are missing a perfect opportunity to be
downright bad deals and try to gloss it over byof service are those organizations that offer
appearing to be your "friend".information, education and guidance to people with
Let's talk about Gerber. They may be good atspecific health issues. Just to name a few,
baby food but I can tell you that the juvenile lifeadvocacy groups who don't offer any life
insurance, or children's life insurance they offer, isinsurance information or guidance at all, the
far from a good deal. They offer a guaranteedAmerican Diabetes Association, the American
issue product, but from a price and benefitHeart Association, Breast Cancer.org, the Prostate
standpoint it pales in comparison to what can beCancer Foundation, and the American Obesity
found through an independent life insurance agent.Association.
Cute baby on the jar! Lousy advice on lifeThese organizations purport to be advocates for
insurance!probably 100 million people yet not one of them
And there's the AOPA. For you non-pilots, theoffers any advice, counsel or referrals for these
AOPA stands for the Aircraft Owners and Pilotspeople to get affordable life insurance. This is a
Association. Go to their website, and you will seetremendous challenge for anyone that would need
how they purport to be advocates for privatethe help of any of these associations or
pilots in just about every area, including lifeorganizations.
insurance. Their recommended company isYou want an advocate? Someone who really
Minnesota Life. There are so many companies outprovides what the definition suggests? Get your
there that can beat Minnesota Life for aviationinsurance quotes for your term insurance,
covered life insurance, that if you were notuniversal life insurance or whole life insurance from
depending on them to be your advocate, it wouldan independent life insurance agent. Get unbiased
be laughable. If you search under life insurance onadvice from an agent that is not an advocate for
their website you will actually find where theya specific insurance company or an organization,
admit that they get a kick back from Minnesotabut to you.
Life. They use the money to enhance their