Did you know that if you’re a 25-years-old male who doesn’t smoke that you have a one in four chance of having a critical illness (cancer, heart attack or stroke) before reaching 65? If you smoke, it becomes an almost 50% chance.

Jesse Slome, who’s the executive director of the American Association for Critical Illness Insurance, laid out some of these startling statistics in a recent article that highlighted the results of the AACII’s first National Critical Illness Risk Assessment Study.

Additionally, the study results showed that 17 percent of non-smoking men and 36 percent of their smoking counterparts who reach the age of 55 without having a critical illness will be diagnosed with one prior to turning age 65. Women face somewhat less of a risk. Of those who reach age 55, 12 percent of non-smokers and 23 percent of smokers will face a critical illness before reaching age 65.

What this can do to someone’s finances is startling. Slome states that nearly two-thirds of U.S. bankruptcies are the result of medical expenses, and of those filing for bankruptcy, 78 percent had health insurance when they were first diagnosed with a critical illness.

The study drives home the need for critical illness insurance, which pays a tax-free, lump-sum cash benefit, usually once one of the covered illnesses is diagnosed. This type of insurance has been available in the United States for 14 years and some 600,000 individuals have coverage.

Perhaps now is the time for you to contact your agent or financial professional to request information on this unique type of insurance.

They dangle from our key chains, encircle our desks, hang on our walls and sit on our mantels. Through photographs, our loved ones are all around us, even when we are not physically with them. Their pictures serve as constant reminders of what matters most in our life.

To encourage people to share their greatest expressions of love, the LIFE Foundation launched on Jan. 15 its Crazy4Love Photo Contest as part of its Insure Your Love campaign running through Valentine’s Day. Dozens of people have already uploaded their pictures to Tumblr.com capturing the first moment with a newborn baby or their first blushes as a newly engaged or wedded couple.

The moments captured in many of these photos also are pivotal life events. In addition to the joy and happiness they bring, they often come with promises to care and protect. One very important way to protect those we love is through life insurance. Share your greatest expression of love for those dearest to you in your life at www.insureyourlove.org. You may win a weekend getaway with your loved one and learn a little more about the connection between love and life insurance.

I was flipping through a recent issue of Real Simple, when I ran across a short article—a Q & A, really. The column is called “Right on the Money,” and it focuses on ethics when it comes to your money. The question a reader asked was, “When filling out an insurance application, can I stretch the truth about my health?” The article explained in around 200 words why this is not a good idea—that it could lead to a future claim being denied.

When I thought about this, I realized that all that space was really unnecessary. “Stretch the truth” is a euphemism for lie. Lie. So, really, the question should have been changed to say, “When filling out an insurance application, can I lie about my health?” When stated this way, the answer needs just one word, “No.”

I recently ran across a yellowing sheet of paper with a typewritten letter; it was a copy of a note I had sent to my son. The date on the letter was Nov. 21, 1989, and my son, who is now in college, was just four months old at the time. As I read it again after 20 years, I realized something: Although I was telling him about the life insurance policy we had just purchased for him, it was, in fact, a love letter.

Love letter, you say? What has life insurance got to do with love? Well, quite a lot, it turns out. The bottom line is that you buy life insurance because you love people and want to protect them financially.

I may be biased because I work in the industry, but take a look at the letter to my son, and see if you don’t agree:

Dear J.P.:

Dad and Mom

As Valentine’s Day approaches, why not consider the gift of life insurance? It may be a policy like the one I purchased—for a child or grandchild, or it may be a policy you buy for yourself with your loved one as the beneficiary. We express our love in many ways, and offering financial security is most certainly an important one. Click through to www.insureyourlove.org to find out how you can do it, too.

Where are people getting their information on health-care reform? MetLife, through the MetLife Study of Employer/Consumer Attitudes on Health Care, states that both consumers and businesses are turning to traditional media outlets. The vast majority of individuals (85%) and more than half of employers (56%) say they look to TV, radio, newspapers and magazines to stay informed about health-care reform.

However, more than half of larger employers—those with 500 or more employees—are also turning to their benefits brokers or consultants for information, more so than they use business (42%) or consumer media (37%) outlets, and much more often than they look to industry publications (32%).

And the survey shows that how satisfied people are with their current medical benefits affects how they view health-care reform: 62% of Americans without any medical insurance feel that reform will be “good for America,” compared with 42% of those with medical insurance. A majority of Gen-Yers (65%) believe that health-care reform will impact them favorably, with only 44% saying are satisfied with their current medical insurance. On the other hand, only a third of Boomers (34%) believe that reform will have a positive impact on them personally, with 63% saying they are satisfied with their current medical coverage.

Attitudes toward reform also correspond to how healthy a person is. According to the MetLife study, 65% of consumers who view their health as “fair” or “poor” say that health-care reform will have a positive impact on them and their families, compared with 28% for those who say their health is “very good” or “excellent.”

Many of today’s employers—41%—aren’t sure what they will do regarding medical benefits if legislation passes. While 36% of employers are unsure about what they will do regarding non-medical benefits like life insurance, disability income protection, and dental benefits should legislation pass, 44% of those who offer these benefits anticipate that they will make no changes to them. Only 5% of employers who offer these benefits say they would consider reducing them.

To sum this all up, business and consumers are confused as to how the proposed legislation will affect them. The solution is to keep in touch with your agent or financial professional. Once reform is final, they will have access to the answers.