I don’t usually comment on entertainment news, but recent news struck a chord with me—first Carrie Fisher, then her mother, Debbie Reynolds, both dead within two days. Because both women were celebrities, we all know about their deaths, but I’m not thinking about their movies today. I’m thinking about their family. What must it be like to lose your sister and your mother in the same week? Your grandmother and your mom?

This is why I do what I do for a living.

I don’t want anyone to have to cope with grief and think about bills—how to cover funeral expenses, how to replace the lost income of the person who died, all of that. I can’t do anything about anybody dying. I’m not a doctor. But I can make sure my clients won’t have to worry about money when they have so many more important things to worry about, like how to comfort each other, or how to explain to a two-year-old where mommy or daddy is. The insurance is there to handle the small stuff.

I can’t help wondering, what if it were my family that had just lost two people? It’s nothing I want to think about, but I have to, because it could happen, and I have to make sure my family would be ok anyway.

I know I will always put my family first and so will my siblings. We would all step in to help each other in the case of a loss, but having life insurance means that the job will be easier. If my dad were to die prematurely, it would be hard to handle, but I rest assured knowing that my mother won’t suffer financial ruin because I’ve personally written a policy on my father.

I’ve helped insure all of my immediate family members. I know that if either of my brothers died, his widow would not have to take on a second job to provide for my wonderful little nieces and nephews.

Many people think life insurance agents have a bad reputation, but I am proud to be one. It’s how I can protect the people I care most about and how I can help other people protect their loved ones, too. That’s my perspective at least.