Page 28 - BusinessWest July 11, 2022

Insurance
A Policy of Purpose
Sam Hanmer Is Finding Satisfaction in His Second Act
After a long career growing FieldEddy (later HUB International New England) into one of the region’s most notable insurance success stories, Sam Hanmer called it quits, figuring he’d enjoy an early retirement. But he didn’t, in fact, enjoy it. So, three years later, with a renewed sense of passion and purpose, he got back in the game, purchasing two local agencies, with the intention to grow them further, with an eye toward cultivating the next generation of leadership.
By Stephen Carter
I
f not for the pandemic, Sam Hanmer said, he might have stayed retired.
Or maybe not.
A long stretch when COVID-19 largely shut down the world certainly didn’t add to whatever enjoyment his retirement years — which began in
the spring of 2018 — were bringing him, but the truth, he admitted, is that early retirement simply didn’t suit him.
“Quite honestly, I was hanging around doing nothing every day and had a lack of purpose in my life,” said Hanmer, whose more than three-decade career in insurance was highlighted by the rapid growth of FieldEddy in the early years of this century and its acquisition by Hub International in 2014. “I said, ‘OK, I have to go do something. This is crazy; I’m too young. None of my friends are retired. I’m a golfer, but not a passionate golfer.’ So retirement didn’t sit well with me.”
As noted, COVID didn’t help — Hanmer’s bulldog, Santino, was his “pandem- ic dog,” a companion during those isolating months — and not even the golf courses were open for a while. Simply put, he was restless.
“I figured, I’ve got plenty of earning years left, so I went back to what I know,” he said, noting that he honored his non-compete agreement with HUB before
28 JULY 11, 2022 INSURANCE BusinessWest