Client Manager Associate - Chicago, IL & Indianapolis, IN

Guardian Life Insurance; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 50,000 - 82,000; Full time

Job summary

Guardian Life Insurance’s Group Benefits Client Management team is seeking a Client Manager Associate to oversee a client book of 2-99 lives, driving persistency, growth, and profitability through broker and client partnerships.

The role requires strong communication, negotiation, and analytical skills with deep product knowledge across dental, vision, life, disability, and leave management. Hybrid work arrangements are supported in Chicago or Indianapolis.

Qualifications

• BA or BS Degree is preferred. Will consider work experience equivalent.
• 3 to 5 years of insurance industry experience, preferably in a sales environment.
• Demonstrated success in servicing brokers/producers/customers.

Responsibilities

• Build relationships with brokers/producers/plan holders for groups with less than 100 enrolled lives.
• Interpret, deliver, and clearly communicate renewals, alternative plan options, and add issue quotes to the broker/producer/client.
• Review experience and utilization reports with Sales Reps for groups with under 100 lives; Package and deliver appropriate reports based on group size and availability.
• Proactively identify add issue opportunities for groups under 100 lives by utilizing Salesforce Reports and other strategies developed in collaboration with Sales Reps and generating quotes.
• Provide renewal rate relief for groups under 100 lives through negotiations with underwriting, as well as determining and generating plan alternative options.
• Serve as subject matter expert on various Guardian systems, capabilities, products, and workflow procedures.

Skills

Excellent communication

Customer service

Mathematical aptitude

Consultative selling

Relationship building

Client focus

Accountability

Planning & organization

Adaptability

Independent work

Goal motivation

Software proficiency

Education

BA or BS Degree

Tools

Outlook

Skype

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Salesforce

GCRS

Siebel

CPS

Phoenix

Business Objects

Job description

Guardian’s Group Benefits Client Management team is hiring a Client Manager Associate! The Client Manager Associate, Premier Market will assume overall responsibility for managing a client book of business in the 2-99 life space. They will be responsible for persistency, growth, and profitability of this book through relationship development with clients, brokers, and key Guardian internal partners. These partners include Underwriting, Sales Support, Service and Claims. This position will also directly work with Sales Representatives to uncover opportunities to add additional lines of coverage to existing business. This position requires the individual to be an ambassador to the business and always use best practices.

The Client Manager Associate is directly and/or indirectly accountable for activities associated with renewing plans (plan retention) and adding new lines of coverage (“add issue”) including, but not limited to, generating plan options and quotes for additional lines of coverage. The individual will proactively evaluate their existing book of business for add issue opportunities, as well as handle incoming renewal and negotiation requests. A successful candidate must demonstrate strong customer service acumen, strong consulting/negotiation skills, deep ancillary product knowledge (dental, vision, life, accident, disability, statutory, supplemental health, voluntary benefits, and leave management) with a high degree of operational effectiveness.

You will:

• Build relationships with brokers/producers/plan holders for groups with less than 100 enrolled lives.
• Interpret, deliver, and clearly communicate renewals, alternative plan options, and add issue quotes to the broker/producer/client.
• Review experience and utilization reports with Sales Reps for groups with under 100 lives; Package and deliver appropriate reports based on group size and availability.
• Proactively identify add issue opportunities for groups under 100 lives by utilizing Salesforce Reports and other strategies developed in collaboration with Sales Reps and generating quotes. Follow up with broker/producer regarding status of renewals and add issue quotes while also engaging the Sales Rep, as needed, to help close the renewal or sale.
• Provide renewal rate relief for groups under 100 lives through negotiations with underwriting, as well as determining and generating plan alternative options.
• Serve as subject matter expert on various Guardian systems, capabilities, products, and workflow procedures.
  

You have:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Excellent customer service soft skills
• Very strong mathematical aptitude and analytical skills
• Strong consultative, negotiation, persuasion, and influencing skills with a sales orientation
• Ability to build and maintain collaborative working relationships at all levels
• A client-focused approach
• Personal accountability
• Strong planning and organizational skills with ability to multi-task
• Ability to easily adapt to change
• Ability to work independently and in a group setting
• Motivation to meet goals: Meet persistency goals, renewal target goals, cross-sell goals (add issue), etc.
• Computer proficiency in Outlook, Skype, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Salesforce, GCRS, Siebel, CPS, Phoenix, Business Objects, etc.
• Ability to represent Guardian in a professional manner
  

Knowledge:

• Solid knowledge of group insurance products, contracts, and services. Group insurance products include dental (PPO, DHMO, fully insured and ASO), vision, life, accident, short- and long-term disability (fully insured and ASO), statutory disability, supplemental health, voluntary benefits, and leave management (federal, state, and local).
• Solid knowledge of financing methodologies and strategies (fully insured and alternate funding)
• Solid knowledge of group insurance underwriting principles, methodologies, and practices
  

Education:

• BA or BS Degree is preferred. Will consider work experience equivalent.
  

Experience:

• 3 to 5 years of insurance industry experience, preferably in a sales environment
• Demonstrated success in servicing brokers/producers/customers

Other:

• Variable compensation for persistency and renewal target bonus and cross-sell/add‑issue bonus, according to the current year Group Sales Incentive Compensation Plan for Client Manager Associates.
• Must achieve required industry licensing within 90 days of date of hire and maintain license through completing Continuing Education requirements.

Location:

• The preferred locations for this position are Chicago, IL or Indianapolis, IN.
• The work arrangement will be hybrid (partial in office; partial work from home).

Salary Range:

$50,130.00 - $82,365.00

The salary range reflected above is a good faith estimate of base pay for the primary location of the position. The salary for this position ultimately will be determined based on the education, experience, knowledge, and abilities of the successful candidate. In addition to salary, this role may also be eligible for annual, sales, or other incentive compensation.

Our Promise

At Guardian, you’ll have the support and flexibility to achieve your professional and personal goals. Through skill-building, leadership development and philanthropic opportunities, we provide opportunities to build communities and grow your career, surrounded by diverse colleagues with high ethical standards.

Inspire Well‑Being

As part of Guardian’s Purpose – to inspire well‑being – we are committed to offering contemporary, supportive, flexible, and inclusive benefits and resources to our colleagues. Explore our company benefits at www.guardianlife.com/careers/corporate/benefits. Benefits apply to full‑time eligible employees. Interns are not eligible for most Company benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Guardian is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to age, race, color, creed, religion, sex, affectional or sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

Accommodations

Guardian is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. Guardian also provides reasonable accommodations to qualified job applicants (and employees) to accommodate the individual’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact [e-mail]. Please note: this resource is for accommodation requests only. For all other inquires related to your application and careers at Guardian, refer to the Guardian Careers site.

Visa Sponsorship

Guardian Life is not currently or in the foreseeable future sponsoring employment‑based visas (e.g., such as an H‑1B). In order to be a successful applicant, you must be legally authorized to work in the United States, without the need for employer sponsorship/support now or at any time in the future.

Notice Regarding Guardian’s Use of Artificial Intelligence in Recruitment

As part of Guardian’s job application process, Guardian may use artificial intelligence tools (“AI Tools”) to automate the sorting and filtering of information provided by applicants as part of its preliminary screening. This preliminary screening may be used to help identify applicant materials and resumes relative to their indication that the applicant meets the requirements for the specific job for which they are applying, as specified in the listing posted on Guardian’s jobs website (Careers at Guardian at https://www.guardianlife.com/careers). At Guardian, we do not use AI Tools to substantially assist or replace human judgment or discretionary decision making in our hiring process. All hiring decisions will be made by Guardian colleagues.

Please be aware that if you apply for a specific position with Guardian, you will have the choice of opting out of Guardian’s use of AI Tools during the job application process. If you would like to request an alternative process that does not utilize AI Tools or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, within ten business days of your position application, you must email your request to [e-mail], making sure to provide your name and job requisition identification number. Guardian will retain your applicant materials and resume and all information therefrom in accordance with Guardian’s document retention policy, a copy of which you may request via [e-mail].

Additionally, at applicable times, Guardian will make public the most recent bias audit results for such AI tools, which may be found here.

Current Guardian Colleagues: Please apply through the internal Jobs Hub in Workday.