Agent Profile: Orlando Challenge Seeker Breaks Through Barriers to Opportunity

We all need a break from time to time, even if it’s getting away from something we love. Pamela Lawlor, CIC, CRM, HAUSER Vice President of Corporate Risk, rarely has time to take much of a break these days. Between building insurance programs and spending quality time with her husband and two young girls, there’s no shortage of activities to tackle. But when Pam has taken the rare breather in the past, it has led to transformative opportunities.

Best Foot Forward

Growing up in Orlando, Florida, Pam’s initial interest in the medical field came through her first job working for a podiatrist while in high school.

“In the beginning, the podiatrist needed someone to babysit his kids, but I became really intrigued with the work he was doing,” Pam said. “So I took the initiative to get my x-ray certification, and then additional certifications to basically be his medical assistant.”

Pam continued working there full-time while she attended the University of Central Florida as a biology major with aspirations to go to medical school. After a seemingly attractive opportunity presented itself, Pam had a life-changing realization that would alter the course of her life.

“The podiatrist would go in and out of various facilities and I formed a relationship with a nurse manager at one of the hospitals. She told me she was looking for someone to help in pediatrics, and I thought, ‘That seems like a cool job, I get to literally rock babies all day.’ I loved the interaction with the babies, but pediatrics was so emotional and heartbreaking I determined I didn’t want to work in a hospital setting.”

At that point, Pam took a break from her full-time school and work schedule so she could determine her next course of action.

Defining Moment

“I always knew I wanted a career helping people, and since becoming a doctor no longer piqued my interest, I decided to take a part-time job at my parents’ small, family-operated insurance agency so I could support my class load. I figured I could still be helping people, just in a different format.”

With a degree in risk management, Pam’s older brother had already planned out his career in insurance and joined the agency; but for her, it began as just a trial run.

“I was a sophomore in college—not sure what I really wanted to do in life—but I soon found out I enjoyed what I was doing at the agency, and I had a knack for it. It was fun, and challenging.”

It was from that point forward that Pam realized her calling.

“One night I talked with my parents and said, ‘I think I’m going to switch my major and work on getting my license.’”

In 2002, Pam received her license and was promoted to a small-business account manager role while continuing with classes from UCF with a business management major and a minor in accounting.

Pam’s younger brother later joined the agency, and as the years passed, it grew to a full-blown midsize agency alongside a growing staff to service it. Her dad and a business partner even formed a separate agency focused on medical professional liability (MPL) insurance, which was where Pam first learned about the MPL space. But in early 2007, her father sold off his portion to focus solely on the family business. By this point, Pam had worked her way up from an account manager to an account executive to a senior account executive.

“I’ve actually never had a direct sales position, and I’ve never viewed insurance as selling a product. I look at it more as, helping people take on their challenges, whether it’s with their business, their practice, their home and auto, whatever their needs are—and doing that from a consultative and educational standpoint. I like to solve problems. I like to fix things. I get joy out of finding gaps in coverage and explaining to people the purpose and importance of the product we’re bringing to the table and being able to help protect them personally and professionally.”

Rise to the Occasion

Unfortunately for everyone, the Great Recession hit at the end of 2007.

“We were forced to shrink down our staff, so we were all hands on deck doing whatever we could to keep the agency alive,” Pam explained. “Growing up in an agency, nepotism is assumed a lot, whereas it’s actually the opposite. When it’s the family business, you know you have to do more. I’m not going to ask somebody to do something that I wouldn’t or couldn’t do on my own. And I think I earned the respect of my colleagues as they saw that. And together, we pulled through during that difficult time in the economy.”

As they built the agency back up in subsequent years, additional producers were brought in to establish an MPL vertical that Pam managed and supported while building relationships with clients and carrier partners. It was the experience she gained helping clients form MPL insurance programs during this period that would set her up for future endeavors.

Then in 2015, Pam’s management skills reached new heights when she became Vice President of Operations and then Chief Officer of Operations over the next seven years, eventually overseeing a staff of 55 employees. One thing remained a constant, though: Pam’s desire to help others.

“I was no longer servicing the book and working with our clients; but rather, I was assuming a lot of the HR functions for the agency, establishing processes and procedures and implementing systems to try and make things easier and more efficient for everybody; but mainly, I was staffing the agency, mentoring service team members, and training our producers, which was really exciting because it was fun to watch them succeed and, in turn, help grow the business.”

Reemergence

Behind the scenes, Pam had gotten married and had two daughters and was feeling the need to take a hiatus from corporate life and spend some good old-fashioned family time away from the agency.

It lasted four months.

With a bit of a laugh Pam added, “I gave it a year, but I couldn’t stay away. I missed client service. I thrive at working with people and helping them solve the problems they face. So my husband and I talked, and I told him, ‘You know what, I really want to go back to work.’ But I always said, ‘If I’m going to come back to the industry, it has to be for something fun and interesting—something different and challenging.’”

That’s where HAUSER came in.

Recruiting Pam to help build MPL programs for other companies on a national level as Vice President of Corporate Risk, the Cincinnati, Ohio–based organization offered her the best of both worlds, allowing her to stay in Orlando to be with her family while working remotely. She came onboard in 2022 and has been hurdling obstacles from the jump.

“Since I started with HAUSER, there’s been several accounts where I was told by previous people that certain things couldn’t be done, certain programs couldn’t be established. Against those odds, I’ve been able to succeed and grow them for that business when I was told it wasn’t possible. Just overcoming those challenges and recognizing my ability to continue to push forward in the industry is something I’m really proud of. I don’t turn away from a challenge, I turn towards it. At 22 years in this industry, I’m still learning something new every day. I’m constantly being challenged by something new and different—that’s the best thing about the work I do. I just can’t wait for what comes at me next.”

This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of The Agent’s Advocate, a publication of The Doctors Company .