Disability Claims Expert - Underwriting

Mercor; New York (NY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Mercor partners with a leading AI lab to train frontier models on insurance reasoning data. We are hiring Disability Claims & Underwriting Specialists to design realistic disability adjudication scenarios, evaluate model outputs, and ensure alignment with industry standards.

You will produce claim determinations, benefit calculations, and medical/vocational summaries, while grading AI responses and providing actionable feedback to improve model behavior.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of professional experience in disability claims adjudication, disability underwriting, vocational rehabilitation, or leave and absence management.
• Familiarity with program types such as group short-term/long-term disability or statutory disability is a plus.
• Ability to weigh medical, occupational and financial evidence with documented rationale.

Responsibilities

• Design disability claims scenarios, elimination periods, and definitions.
• Create determinations, benefit calculations, and evidence summaries.
• Grade AI-generated responses against rubrics for accuracy and fairness.
• Identify misapplied definitions, missed offsets, or errors in benefit calculations.
• Provide written feedback to improve model behavior and documentation.

Skills

Disability claims

Underwriting

Vocational rehabilitation

Leave management

Job description

About the Role

Mercor is partnering with a leading AI lab to train frontier models on high-quality insurance reasoning data. We're hiring Disability Claims & Underwriting Specialists to design realistic disability adjudication and risk-selection scenarios, evaluate model outputs against established industry standards, and help shape how the next generation of AI reasons about disability definitions, medical and vocational evidence, and benefit entitlement.

We welcome group and individual disability claims examiners, disability underwriters, vocational rehabilitation professionals, return-to-work and absence-management specialists, and appeals reviewers from carriers, TPAs and employer-side programs.

What You'll Do

• Design realistic scenarios involving short- and long-term disability claims, elimination periods, own-occupation and any-occupation definitions, residual and partial disability, offsets, recurrent disability and claim duration management
• Create work products such as claim determinations, benefit calculations, medical and vocational evidence summaries, transferable-skills analyses, return-to-work plans and appeal decisions
• Write "golden" reference responses at experienced disability-professional quality
• Grade AI-generated responses against structured rubrics for definitional accuracy, evidentiary support, benefit-calculation correctness and procedural fairness
• Identify misapplied disability definitions, unsupported functional conclusions, missed offsets, incorrect benefit math, and failures to document the administrative record
• Provide written feedback the research team uses to improve model behavior
• Participate in onboarding office hours and calibration sessions

You're a Good Fit If You

• Have 2+ years of professional experience in disability claims adjudication, disability underwriting, vocational rehabilitation, or leave and absence management
• Have worked with at least one program type, such as group short-term disability, group long-term disability, individual disability income, statutory disability, or life waiver of premium
• Understand how contract definitions, elimination periods, offsets, pre-existing-condition provisions and maximum benefit periods determine entitlement and duration
• Can weigh medical, occupational and financial evidence and articulate a defensible determination with a documented rationale
• Demonstrate excellent written analysis, balanced judgment and high attention to detail
• Can distinguish claim adjudication from treating-provider clinical decisions and from formal legal advice

Bonus Qualifications

• CRC, CDMS, CCM, CPDM, RN, or comparable clinical or vocational credential
• Experience with ERISA administrative records, appeals or litigation support
• Individual disability income underwriting, including occupation class and financial underwriting
• Social Security, workers compensation or other-income offset coordination experience
• Experience with FMLA, state leave programs or ADA accommodation interaction

Role Highlights

• Minimum 20 hours per week (ideally 40+)
• Role starts immediately, applications reviewed on a rolling basis