Benefits Account Manager Insurance

Gaylord Insurance Agency; Oak Brook (IL); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work from home

Hybrid work model

Job summary

Gaylord Insurance Agency in Illinois seeks an experienced Benefits Account Manager to independently manage a book of group benefits, lead a service team, and train staff in Employee Navigator and benefits administration.

The role requires advanced knowledge of complex rating, underwriting, renewals, and carrier negotiations, with strong collaboration with HR leaders and carriers in a remote/hybrid setup.

Qualifications

• Advanced Employee Navigator proficiency is required.
• Experience with carrier negotiations, renewals, and underwriting.

Responsibilities

• Manage a book of group medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and ancillary benefit accounts.
• Serve as primary contact for HR managers, owners, employees, carriers, payroll providers, and vendors.
• Provide proactive support regarding coverage, eligibility, claims, billing, enrollment, and policy questions.
• Train staff on Employee Navigator, benefits administration processes, audits, and feeds.
• Lead, mentor, and develop benefits service team; conduct monthly in-person team meetings.

Skills

Benefits administration

Employee Navigator

Renewals & negotiations

Client & account management

Team leadership

Presentations/Public speaking

Education

Illinois Life and Health licenses

Tools

Employee Navigator

Job description

Benefits:

• Health insurance
• Benefits Account Manager – Employee Benefits & Insurance

Position: Benefits Account Manager Location: Hybrid – Full-Time In-Person Requirements: Monthly team meetings, onsite employee education, and open enrollment sessions as needed. In person appointments.

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Benefits Account Manager to independently manage a book of group benefits business while leading, training, and developing a service team.

This is a hands‑on position requiring advanced Employee Navigator knowledge, strong Illinois insurance licensing, extensive carrier knowledge, advanced rating and underwriting experience, renewal negotiation, new business quoting, benefits administration, data auditing, and client service skills.

The ideal candidate can confidently work with HR leaders, business owners, employees, carriers, payroll companies, HRIS providers, and internal service teams while managing multiple priorities in a remote environment.

Core Responsibilities

Client & Account Management

• Manage a book of group medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and ancillary benefit accounts.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for HR managers, business owners, employees, carriers, payroll providers, and vendors.
• Provide proactive, professional support regarding coverage, eligibility, claims, billing, enrollment, and policy questions.
• Support client retention, satisfaction, account growth, and additional product opportunities.
• Manage accounts from implementation through annual renewal.

Employee Navigator & Benefits Administration

• Advanced Employee Navigator proficiency is required.
• Maintain all client groups and ensure accurate enrollment and eligibility information.
• Manage new hires, terminations, qualifying life events, COBRA, dependents, eligibility changes, and open enrollment.
• Configure, test, maintain, and troubleshoot Employee Navigator.
• Coordinate enrollment and eligibility feeds with carriers and other benefit vendors.
• Train clients and internal staff on Employee Navigator and benefits administration processes.

Audits, Payroll & HRIS Integration

• Conduct weekly and monthly benefits audits covering enrollment, eligibility, deductions, rates, effective dates, employee status, and dependents.
• Reconcile Employee Navigator, carrier records, payroll, HRIS data, and carrier invoices.
• Identify and correct missing, duplicate, rejected, or inaccurate records.
• Manage and troubleshoot carrier-to-Employee Navigator, carrier-to-payroll, and carrier-to-HRIS feeds.
• Work directly with carriers, payroll companies, HRIS providers, and client HR teams to resolve feed and data issues.
• Verify employee/employer contributions and payroll deductions match elected coverage.
• Maintain audit records and follow corrective actions through resolution.

Renewals, Rating & New Business

• Manage annual renewals and negotiate rates and plan terms with carriers.
• Obtain and analyze competitive quotes for new and existing business.
• Prepare rate comparisons, plan comparisons, census analysis, contribution models, and renewal recommendations.

Possess advanced knowledge of:

• Composite and age-banded rating
• Employee/family tier structures
• Employer/employee contribution strategies
• Participation and underwriting requirements
• HMO, PPO, POS, EPO, HDHP/HSA plans
• Fully insured, level-funded, and self-funded arrangements
• Medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, STD, and LTD rating
• Analyze carrier proposals, underwriting requirements, networks, plan designs, rates, and renewal terms.

Carrier Knowledge

• Extensive knowledge of major health, life, dental, vision, disability, and ancillary carriers is strongly required.
• Experience with carriers such as:
• Medical: Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Oscar, and regional health plans.
• Dental/Vision: Delta Dental, Guardian, MetLife, Principal, Sun Life, UnitedHealthcare, EyeMed, and VSP.
• Life/Disability/Ancillary: Lincoln Financial, Unum, The Hartford, Principal, MetLife, Guardian, Reliance Standard, Sun Life, Mutual of Omaha, Ameritas, New York Life, Securian, and Standard.
• Candidate must be able to independently evaluate carrier rates, underwriting, networks, plan designs, participation requirements, eligibility rules, funding arrangements, and renewal strategies. Experience with regional, specialty, wholesale, and alternative funding markets is a strong plus.

Team Leadership & Training

• Lead, mentor, and develop benefits service team members.
• Train staff on Employee Navigator, benefits administration, audits, carrier procedures, payroll reconciliation, feeds, and service standards.
• Establish consistent workflows and quality-control procedures.
• Monitor workload, accuracy, deadlines, and service levels.
• Conduct monthly in-person team meetings.
• Support team problem-solving and professional development.

Presentations & Employee Education

• Must be able to independently create professional PowerPoint/client presentations.
• Prepare renewal presentations, carrier comparisons, rate analyses, plan comparisons, and employee education materials.
• Present renewal recommendations to HR teams, business owners, and executives.
• Conduct employee education and open enrollment sessions onsite and through Microsoft Teams.
• Clearly explain medical, dental, vision, life, disability, HSA/FSA, costs, networks, deductibles, and coverage options.

Illinois Insurance Licensing – Required.

The candidate must maintain active Illinois insurance producer licenses in:

• Life
• Accident & Health

Candidate must maintain all required Illinois appointments and continuing education requirements.

Preferred:

• Non-resident licenses in additional states.
• Additional Life and Accident & Health licenses.
• Applicable carrier appointments.
• Long-Term Care Partnership certification, where applicable.

Qualifications

• Minimum 4 years of group benefits or commercial insurance experience; 6+ years preferred.
• Active Illinois Life and Accident & Health producer licenses.
• Advanced Employee Navigator experience.
• Strong knowledge of medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and ancillary products.
• Proven experience with carrier negotiations, renewals, advanced rating, underwriting, and new business quoting.
• Strong experience conducting weekly/monthly benefits audits.
• Experience reconciling carrier, Employee Navigator, payroll, HRIS, and invoice data.
• Experience managing electronic carrier/payroll/HRIS feeds.
• Proven ability to lead, train, and mentor service staff.
• Strong presentation and public‑speaking skills.
• Ability to create professional client and employee presentations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Highly organized, detail‑oriented, and able to manage multiple accounts and deadlines.
• Comfortable working independently in a remote environment.
• Willing and able to attend required onsite meetings and employee education/open enrollment events.

Ideal Candidate

We are looking for more than a traditional benefits administrator. The ideal candidate is a licensed, technically strong Benefits Account Manager who can manage clients, lead a service team, negotiate with carriers, analyze complex rates and renewals, manage Employee Navigator, oversee audits and electronic feeds, resolve claims and eligibility issues, create professional presentations, and confidently educate HR leadership and employees.

Compensation & Benefits

Competitive salary based on experience, performance incentives, benefits package, professional development, and opportunities for advancement.

Flexible work from home options available.