Dedicated Employee Benefit Specialist (On-Site)

The next part of your journey is right around the corner — with The Standard.

A genuine desire to make a difference in the lives of others is the foundation for everything we do. With a customer-first mindset and an intentional focus on building strong teams, we’ve been able to uphold our legacy of financial stability while investing in new, innovative technologies that support the needs of our customers. Our high-performance culture focused on operational excellence thrives thanks to remarkable people united by compassion and a customer-first commitment. Are you ready to make a difference?

This is a hybrid role, requiring you to work onsite at the customer’s office in Lake Forest, IL 3 days per week. The other 2 days you can work from wherever you choose!

What You’ll Do 

This is a dedicated Client Management role, to assist our clients’ HR department, their employees and our producers in the administration of group Life, Disability, Voluntary, and/or Absence contracts with The Standard. You will work with customer representatives and insured members to help them gain an understanding of both coverage & benefit features of the plans.

**Our client is looking for someone with a strong background in Disability, Life and absence management. Your attention to detail and analytical skills will also be an asset for you in this role. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Serves as the liaison between the policyholder and The Standard. 
• Maintains and protects personal information of the policyholder’s employees. 
• Works closely with the employer to respond to claim and coverage inquiries, including verifying appropriate premium administration, addressing customer service issues, claims issues, contract issues and other group life and disability related inquiries. 
• Provides multiple reports to the policyholder’s benefit and business locations on approved claims, outstanding information requested, and Evidence of Insurability status as needed. 
• Develop and manage effective primary relationships with key policyholders and producers through frequent responsive communication, professional negotiation, problem resolution and exceeding customer expectations. 
• Work with policyholder’s employees to understand their concerns and needs and act as liaison between home office departments and the customers to initiate plan improvements and resolve administrative inconsistencies. 
• Develops effective relationships with Human Resources, Benefits and Payroll staff throughout the policyholders’ various locations. 
• Independently administers claim processes, handles coordination of death claims, and assists employees in filing for claims. 
• Creates best practices & new process improvements that ensure a positive customer experience for the employer and employees and future retention of the business.
• Participates in special projects related to the policyholder’s life and disability plans, as assigned.

The Skills and Background You’ll Need: 

• Ability to plan and organize own work to meet changing priorities and diverse customer needs.
• Analyze, interpret, and apply benefit contract provisions to varied, complex situations. Make sound, independent judgments. 
• Strong verbal and written communication skills. 
• Ability to provide timely and thorough responses to inquiries and continuously finds way to improve and promote the service experience.
• Customer service skill set, discretion, and ability to handle the sensitive and delicate personal situations of the employees that involve leave and disability. 

• Proven ability to develop effective business relationships and communicate with diverse audiences in many different settings; problem solving and decision making consistent with company objectives, or the equivalent combination of education and/or relevant experience.
• Union knowledge and experience will be helpful

Preferences and Requirements:

• Recommended software experience: Workday, ServiceNow (or other case management system), Salesforce.
• Required to learn and have the ability to interpret federal, state and local leave regulations. 
• Experience: 4+ years of relevant, progressive work experience in the group insurance administration, with an emphasis in disability, Claims and/or Account Management.
• Education: High School Diploma Required.
• FMLI or CEBS professional certification preferred
• Professional Certification: Life and Disability insurance license preferred.

We have built an enduring legacy of stability, financial strength and exceptional customer service through the contributions of the service-oriented people who choose to work at The Standard. To ensure we can attract and retain the best talent, when you join The Standard you can expect:

• A rich benefits package including medical, dental, vision and a 401(k) plan with matching company contributions

• An annual incentive bonus plan

• Generous paid time off including 11 holidays, 2 wellness days, and 8 volunteer hours annually — PTO increases with tenure

• A supportive, responsive management approach and opportunities for career growth and advancement 

• Paid parental leave and adoption/surrogacy assistance

• An employee giving program that double matches your donations to eligible nonprofits and schools

In addition to the competitive salary range below, our employee-focused benefits support work-life balance. Learn more about working at The Standard.

• Eligibility to participate in an incentive program is subject to the rules governing the program and plan. Any award depends on a variety of factors including individual and organizational performance.

The actual compensation for this role will be based on a combination of education and experience, knowledge and skills, position budget, internal equity, and market data.

Salary Range:

Standard Insurance Company, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York, Standard Retirement Services, Inc., StanCorp Mortgage Investors, LLC, StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc., and American Heritage Life Insurance Company and American Heritage Service Company, marketed as The Standard, are Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employers. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability or veteran status or any other condition protected by federal, state or local law. Except where precluded by state or federal law, The Standard will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance. The Standard offers a drug- and alcohol-free work environment where possession, manufacture, transfer, offer, use of or being impaired by an illegal substance while on The Standard's property, or in other cases which the company believes might affect operations, safety or reputation of the company is prohibited. The Standard requires a criminal background investigation and employment, education and licensing verification as a condition of employment. All employees of The Standard must be bondable.