KAREN SALMON | Age: 39 Vice president, health care

Gallagher Bassett Services Inc.

Houston

As an undergrad, Karen Salmon was a philosophy major at Indiana University, where she became interested in bioethics and health care ethics. After receiving her law degree from New England Law, she pursued a career in insurance law and health care, which took her to South Carolina and Georgia. In January, Ms. Salmon started at Western Litigation, a division of Gallagher Bassett.

What’s your advice on navigating the current insurance market?

A majority of jurisdictions have pushed trial dates into 2022 or have not set dates. As the claims goal for our clients is to deliver the same or better lifecycle as a claim pre-COVID, my advice in this market is to think creatively by turning to new technology and more creative alternatives to push resolution.

How will your work change going forward?

Because the court systems have been shut down and we haven’t seen trials for more than a year, we have to prepare for what a trial will look like once things open up.

What should the industry do to attract more young people to work in it?

I was once part of a summer program where interns rotated through the company’s insurance departments. It turned out that 100% of them ended up remaining in the insurance industry. This shows that it’s about putting them into a hands-on situation for finding their niche.

What is something about you that would surprise people?

I have completed five ultra-marathons. I am also a triathlete and I race with a team out of Colorado called Base Performance.

What’s one habit or hobby you adopted during the pandemic?

I became a certified yoga teacher and meditation is a daily habit. My inspiration was my sister, who was diagnosed with stage-4 colon cancer and underwent six months of chemotherapy. She inspired me to connect with others, starting from a place of kindness.