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Digital EditionLife Science Broker Sarah Palmer Shares Her Start in the Industry and What It Takes to Succeed
Come see the Stars! As part of our ongoing coverage of the best brokers in the commercial insurance space, Risk & Insurance®, with the sponsorship of Philadelphia Insurance, is expanding its coverage of the Rising Stars, those brokers who represent the next wave of insurance brokering talent.
Look for these expanded profiles on the Risk & Insurance website and in your social media feeds throughout the year.
Gallagher’s Sarah Palmer, Senior Director, Life Science and Technology Practice, and a 2024 Public Sector Power Broker, shares below.
Risk & Insurance: How did you get your start in the commercial insurance business?
Sarah Palmer: I interned at Gallagher during college but, graduating during the Great Recession, I initially chose a different, recession-resistant career. I gained strong B2B sales, negotiation and leadership experience but wasn’t passionate about the work.
A few years later, I moved to Boston for family reasons and took a career break. As the market strengthened, I reflected on my career goals and decided to pivot.
I joined Gallagher via their “HireRight” initiative, which recruits professionals with niche experience but little insurance background. I’m a risk-averse individual, so insurance and risk management appealed to me.
Having a family member with a rare medical condition and coming from a multi-generational family of pharmacists, the work with life sciences companies in managing their risk is personally meaningful.
R&I: What’s an exciting new product that you have worked with recently?
SP: Many of my clients are working on novel therapies, such as orphan drugs for rare diseases or addressing broader population needs like opioid use disorder and obstructive sleep apnea. These companies have unique risks that often aren’t covered by standard policies, but there are bespoke insurance solutions.
Recently, I’ve worked on clinical trial liability policy extensions for therapies that could impact the pregnant partners of trial participants, transit and stock insurance for truly irreplaceable materials like cell lines and clinical trial tissue samples, and catastrophic product recall insurance tailored to dovetail with a client’s contract language with a third-party manufacturer and their business interruption coverage.
R&I: Was there a mentor or mentors who proved invaluable to you in your career advancement?
SP: I’ve been fortunate to have excellent mentors in the insurance industry. Entering the field felt like trial by fire—the stakes were high for both my clients and my career. Life sciences clients have high expectations, and poor guidance can have serious consequences.
Key mentors helped me navigate early career challenges and learn from them. Some of my mentors have retired, while others are still active in their careers; all are still providing invaluable perspective and candid feedback. Their mentorship has been critical to my success.
R&I: How would you describe this work and this industry to someone who doesn’t work in it?
SP: Insurance and risk management is all about problem-solving.
My role is to help clients remove obstacles to achieve their goals. I work with life sciences clients developing groundbreaking therapies in uncharted territory. While we have a risk management framework, there isn’t a playbook to address many novel risks. Creating solutions requires deep understanding and collaboration to find a viable path forward.
No two days are alike, and the work is intellectually stimulating and fast-paced. The collaboration needed to develop solutions fosters strong relationships with both clients and carriers, making the work more engaging than many may expect from our industry. &
