My ‘Why’ as a Professional Liability Broker
By Kayla Mayhew, Life Sciences Practice Leader at Founders Professional
August 2021
A defining moment of my life occurred on a chilly February ‘96 evening, riding home from the hospital in the backseat of one of my dad’s favorite cars, a 1967 Pontiac LeMans. I stared through the window, deep in thought, as my mom drove two of my sisters and me home from bringing my dad Valentine’s Day cards. He was skinny, sick and weak because blast cells had taken over his blood. The cancer had won – he would be coming home with hospice in two days.
A bone marrow match had been found, but for some unknown reason, the donor was unavailable and the transplant was delayed. The other treatments didn’t work. Just two years after he passed, the drug that could have saved him was discovered by an oncologist-researcher and a scientist, it went through clinical trials, and then received FDA approval all within five years of his passing. The pair’s discovery transformed a fatal cancer into a manageable chronic condition.
It was that car ride home, at the tender age of ten-years-old, where I decided that I wanted to ‘help doctors’ when I grew up.
My dad wasn’t saved, but his care was excellent, especially from his hematologist and oncologist who’d treated him with profound dignity and respect. The hospice nurses who came into our home were the most kind, empathetic people I’ve met, still to this day.
Since that evening, I’ve learned that our healthcare delivery system is a collaborative team of not only the providers on the frontlines in offices, facilities, hospitals, and even our homes, but also the life science researchers and scientists who work behind the scenes in labs and research facilities.
Life sciences is an enormous field which studies living things – their work is saving our planet and its’ inhabitants, animals and humans.
These are brilliant visionaries, innovators, and disruptors who design, develop, and test life-improving and life-saving products that help to prevent, diagnose, treat, and sometimes cure disease. Their breakthroughs and discoveries not only lessen the suffering and loss of patients, but also the heartache felt by friends and families, like mine.
Insurance is a promise in a packet of papers. It gives peace of mind to these heroes who courageously preserve and save our lives – especially now, during the COVID pandemic.
I’ve had the privilege of working with Retail Agency Partners in placing wholesale professional and management liability insurance in the healthcare and life sciences space at Founders Professional for the past eight years – a childhood yearning to help doctors come true.
We all have finite days. Life sciences improves and extends those days. It’s an honor to be in the shadows, serving the healthcare and life sciences industries as a Professional Liability Broker.
About the Author
Kayla Mayhew is a Professional Liability & Management Liability Insurance Broker, as well as the Life Sciences Practice Leader at Founders Professional. Based out of St. Petersburg, FL, Kayla assists retail insurance agents across the Country in finding tailored solutions for their life science clients. Kayla can be reached directly at Kayla.Mayhew@founderspro.com