It’s No Laughing Matter to Actress Molly Shannon

We all know the crazy comedy sketches of Molly Shannon on her years at Saturday Night Live. She was part of an amazing cast of characters, and was a reason that I would tune into SNL occasionally during those years. What many people don’t know is the story of her family’s financial struggles that resulted from a tragic car accident at the age of 4 that took the lives of her mother, cousin, and sister.

Molly’s father and older sister were in the car as well that day, but miraculously they survived. Her father however was injured and was unable to work for a few years. Of course you can imagine the toll this would take on a family’s financial outlook.

“The accident changed our lives dramatically,” Shannon says. “In an instant, my dad became a single parent and the only breadwinner for our family.” I think you would all agree that this is a terrible situation for a family to see themselves in.

Consequently, Molly grew up appreciating the importance of planning for all of life’s unexpected events. When she became a mother herself she began to stand up and speak out on the necessity of life insurance. Had her family properly planned they would not have seen themselves in this difficult situation.

I understand how difficult it is to think about life insurance when you are young. Trust me, it was difficult for me to put the purchase of life insurance above spending the money on travel or other things that I love to do. However, I believe Molly is a perfect example of how crucial life insurance is for EVERYONE.

Molly has been named the face and voice of Life Insurance Awareness Month, an industry-wide campaign headed by the nonprofit LIFE Foundation, Arlington, Va., kicking off in September.

Listen to Molly’s powerful story: www.lifehappens.org

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