Ask the Leaders is a one-of-a-kind series geared towards helping young professionals grow into leaders within the professional lines community. The guests on Ask the Leaders provide insight into their experiences, knowledge and lessons learned that have helped them develop into some of the top leaders in their field. Topics include career advancement tips, networking opportunities, goal setting, and outside experience needed to become a leader!

This series is hosted by Nate Hartman, Claims Superintendent – Professional Liability at Admiral Insurance Group and Robert McCarthy, MLIS, Executive Lines Broker at Risk Placement Services.

Laura Zaroski began her insurance career in 2007 and joined Gallagher in 2018. Prior to Gallagher, she was the executive vice president of cyber, management and professional liability at Socius Insurance Services, a wholesale insurance broker. Laura also served as Socius’ EPL practice leader and complex claims liaison. Her practice included the placement of all types of D&O, EPL, fiduciary, LPL, MPL and cyber policies.
Before to becoming a broker, Laura was a partner at the Chicago office of O’Hagan Spencer, LLC, and headed up the insurance coverage and claims management department. As claims management and coverage counsel for various London and domestic carriers, her experience involved counseling clients in the drafting of policies, program creation, examining claim exposure, effective claims handling techniques, litigation management, and effective resolution/settlement negotiation techniques. Laura counseled on cost effective defense strategies and negotiated favorable settlements for hundreds of cases nationwide.

Laura current role is responsible for the placement of lawyer’s professional, management liability and Cyber Liability policies for Gallagher law firm clients. Laura has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by law firms due to her 16 years as a practicing attorney, her handling of law firms’ claims and years dealing with LPL coverage issues. She brings her knowledge and skill set to the broking process in order to assist firms with finding and tailoring the best coverage solutions available in the marketplace for each individual law firm.