Page 21 - Shaw Wall of Honor

Work Smart & Hard! |
I’ve been in commercial insurance as a producer since 1984. I moved from New York to south Florida and began my career with Liberty Mutual as a captive agent; in 2007, I moved over to the brokerage side. I’ve always had a niche in construction, and chose that specialty because the WC and GL rates are high (compared to other industries). As a result, I’ve always played in a space more traditionally looked at as one belonging to men (the industry as well as the niche).
I’ve had some interesting experiences over the years that I know would not have happened if I was a man. I remember looking at an insurance program for a well known south Florida businessman who fancies himself to be a cowboy (and he has the boots, hat, and belt buckle to prove it). As I made my presentation to him and his team—along with several of
my male regional managers—detailing all the benefits and program enhancements, he interrupted me and asked, “What’s the bottom line, little lady?” The bottom line was that we were saving him $300,000 in premium and improving his coverages and lowering deductibles. We won the account.
Then there was the experience of participating in a networking group for electrical contractors. They basically blackballed me, even though I paid the dues to join the group, sponsored a luncheon, spoke about the market and ways they could improve on their programs, and had drastically improved on one of the programs for their members who had allowed me to review his policies. When I asked my client to go to bat for me with his affiliated members, he told me they wouldn’t do business with me because it was a “good old boys club.” It didn’t matter how good or smart I was, and he told me as much.
in our industry, the constant over the years has been that men typically work in production
WRITTEN BY
LORIN MONTGOMERY
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