MassMutual Offers Free Life Insurance to Working Parents in South Carolina

Aug 16,2006 00:00 by PR-Newswire

Information sessions to be held Aug. 18 for employers, non-profit organizations

COLUMBIA, S.C., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Massachusetts Mutual Life
Insurance Company (MassMutual) is bringing the company's LifeBridge(SM)
Free Life Insurance Program to the Columbia, South Carolina area.

MassMutual's LifeBridge is a national philanthropic program in which
the company issues 10-year term life insurance policies to eligible working
parents to help pay for the cost of their children's education in the event
they die. Through LifeBridge, $50,000 life insurance policies are issued to
a trust on the life of qualifying parents or legal guardians to help pay
for the education of their eligible children who -- in the event of a
parent's death during the policy's term -- may not be able to afford to
complete their schooling. All premiums are paid entirely by MassMutual,
with no fees ever for qualified parents or their children.

The office of Tripp Limehouse, a MassMutual Agent based in Lexington,
S.C., is holding LifeBridge information sessions at the YWCA of the
Midlands, 1510 Barnwell Street, Columbia, S.C., this Friday, Aug. 18 for
employers and community-based organizations who may be interested in
offering the program. A session for employers will be held from 8 to 9:30
a.m., and a session for community-based organizations will be held from 10
to 11:30 a.m.

"We are extremely excited to bring LifeBridge to the Columbia area,"
says Tripp Limehouse, CLTC, CFBS, insurance and financial services
professional for MassMutual. "We want to help ensure that access to
educational opportunities exists for children of working families and not
just those who are lucky enough to have parents with adequate financial
means. There is absolutely no cost to the insured for a policy under the
LifeBridge program."

MassMutual has provided more than 5,500 10-year term life insurance
policies since launching the LifeBridge program in 2002, representing more
than $275 million in free life insurance coverage.

To be eligible to apply for a term life insurance policy under the
LifeBridge program, applicants must be:

* Between the ages of 19-42;

* A permanent, legal U.S. resident;

* The parent or legal guardian of one or more dependent children under the
age of 18;

    * Currently employed -- either full- or part-time -- and have a family
      income between $10,000 and $40,000 on their most recent income tax
      return;

* The only family member who has applied for the LifeBridge program; and

* In good health, as determined by MassMutual's underwriting guidelines.

Each LifeBridge policy has a 10-year policy term. If the insured parent
or legal guardian dies during that time, the $50,000 life insurance benefit
will be applied solely toward the education of the children. The money will
be paid to a trust administered by The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB on
behalf of the children. The trust will pay the educational expenses of the
children directly to the educational institution they attend.

Various types of schools qualify, including, but not limited to,
pre-school, private school, vocational school, community college,
universities, art and music schools or graduate schools. Some of the
educational expenses covered include books, tuition, and room and board.

For more information, contact the office of Tripp Limehouse, 405 E.
Main Street, Suite A, Lexington, S.C., 29072. The phone number is
803-359-2569.

MassMutual Financial Group companies -- with more than $395 billion in
assets under management as of December 31, 2005 -- provide life insurance,
annuities, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance,
retirement planning products, structured settlement annuities, trust
services, money management, and other financial products and services.

The MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for Massachusetts
Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliates, which
include: OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; Babson Capital Management LLC; Baring
Asset Management Limited; Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers LLC; MML
Investors Services, Inc.; The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB; MML Bay State
Life Insurance Company; C.M. Life Insurance Company; and MassMutual
International, Inc. MassMutual is on the Internet at
http://www.massmutual.com.

SOURCE MassMutual Financial Group

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