Senior Life Event Specialist

Unum Ireland; Chattanooga (TN); On-site; USD 53,000 - 101,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, Vision, Dental

Short & Long-Term Disability

Paid Time Off

401(k) employer match

Tuition reimbursement

Student loan repayment options

Mental health support

Career advancement opportunities

Flexible work environments

Job summary

Unum in Chattanooga, TN is seeking an experienced Benefits Specialist to adjudicate complex short-term disability claims with a strong focus on FMLA and state leave regulations.

You will deliver exceptional customer service while collaborating with employers, employees, and health care providers to ensure accurate and timely decisions.

Qualifications

• 4-year degree preferred or equivalent work experience.
• 3+ years in Leave or Disability Benefit Specialist roles.
• Medical background and disability/leave experience preferred.
• Ability to exercise independent judgment in complex adjudication.

Responsibilities

• Timely and accurate adjudication of complex STD claims.
• Process leaves related to employee health conditions.
• Apply policy knowledge to determine eligibility and liability.
• Communicate rationale for claims actions clearly to stakeholders.
• Provide coaching and support to colleagues as needed.
• Coordinate with HR, employers, and medical resources.

Skills

Disability claim adjudication

Leave management

Analytical skills

Independent judgment

Customer service

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

Job Posting End Date: November 30

When you join the team at Unum, you become part of an organization committed to helping you thrive. Here, we work to provide the employee benefits and service solutions that enable employees at our client companies to thrive throughout life's moments. And this starts with ensuring that every one of our team members enjoys opportunities to succeed both professionally and personally.

To enable this, we provide:

• Award-winning culture
• Inclusion and diversity as a priority
• Performance Based Incentive Plans
• Competitive benefits package that includes: Health, Vision, Dental, Short & Long-Term Disability
• Generous PTO (including paid time to volunteer!)
• Up to 9.5% 401(k) employer contribution
• Mental health support
• Career advancement opportunities
• Student loan repayment options
• Tuition reimbursement
• Flexible work environments

All the benefits listed above are subject to the terms of their individual Plans. And that's just the beginning…

With 10,000 employees helping more than 39 million people worldwide, every role at Unum is meaningful and impacts the lives of our customers. Whether you're directly supporting a growing family, or developing online tools to help navigate a difficult loss, customers are counting on the combined talents of our entire team. Help us help others, and join Team Unum today!

General Summary

General Summary: General Summary: This position is an advanced level technical position responsible for the thorough, fair, objective, and timely adjudication of the most complex short-term disability claims in conjunction with providing technical expertise regarding FMLA and state leave regulations. This position is responsible for providing excellent customer service and interacts on a regular basis with employees, employers and health care providers.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Timely and accurate adjudication of complex STD claims
• Processing of leaves associated with an employee's own health condition
• Apply technical contractual knowledge (policies and provisions) to ensure appropriate eligibility requirements and liability decisions
• Determine complex eligibility and availability of leave for integrated claims/leaves
• Responsible for timely and accurate claims review, initiation and completion of appropriate claim validation activities, and effective communication of rationale for claims action
• Determine and generate appropriate communications to comply with FMLA and State regulations and customer procedures
• Facilitate roundtables when consulted or manager is unavailable
• Provides technical coaching and mentor support to less experienced Benefit Center professionals
• Provides Manager/Director with performance and development feedback for assigned mentees
• Is viewed as a role model, technical expert and leader within the team and Benefits Center
• Provides coverage of daily tasks including customer inquiries and attending customer calls as needed and in times of management absence
• Verify on-going liability and return to work opportunities as appropriate
• Provide excellent customer service by paying appropriate claims promptly and quickly and independently responding to all inquiries within Benefits service guidelines
• Develop relationships with Employer contacts, including HR administrators
• Coordinate file strategies utilizing specialized resources including nurses, physicians, vocational rehabilitation and assessing medical documentation
• Ensure timely referrals/notifications to other areas (i.e., LTD, medical assessments, etc) as appropriate
• Ensure a timely and well communicated transfer process when transitioning integrated claims from STD to LTD, ensuring a coordinated and continuous claims experience to employees
• Maintain organizational service standards on all assigned claims and leaves
• Be familiar with specialized workflow requirements and performance standards for any assigned customers
• May perform other duties as assigned

Job Specifications

• 4-year degree preferred or equivalent work experience
• 3 years or more years in the Leave or Disability Benefit Specialist role
• Mastery of all key responsibilities and job specifications of either the Leave or Disability Benefit Specialist roles
• Medical background, Disability claim and/or leave management experience preferred
• Ability to exercise independent judgment and discretion in increasingly complex claim adjudication decisions.
• Expectation of increasing levels of skill and ability; ability to manage a wide variety of claims independently.
• Demonstrated success in developing and implementing return to work strategies.
• Ability to interact effectively and professionally with claimants, employers, medical resources, attorneys, accountants, brokers, sales representatives, etc.
• Strong service and quality orientation.
• Possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Meets the standards for this position, as defined in the Talent Management framework ~IN2 #LI-TS2

Unum and Colonial Life are part of Unum Group, a Fortune 500 company and leading provider of employee benefits to companies worldwide. Headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, with international offices in Ireland, Poland and the UK, Unum also has significant operations in Portland, ME - plus over 35 US field offices. Colonial Life is headquartered in Columbia, SC, with over 40 field offices nationwide.

Unum is an equal opportunity employer, considering all qualified applicants and employees for hiring, placement, and advancement, without regard to a person's race, color, religion, national origin, age, genetic information, military status, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, or protected veteran status.

The base salary range for applicants for this position is listed below. Unless actual salary is indicated above in the job description, actual pay will be based on skill, geographical location and experience. $53,300.00-$100,700.00 Additionally, Unum offers a portfolio of benefits and rewards that are competitive and comprehensive including healthcare benefits (health, vision, dental), insurance benefits (short & long-term disability), performance-based incentive plans, paid time off, and a 401(k) retirement plan with an employer match up to 5% and an additional 4.5% contribution whether you contribute to the plan or not. All benefits are subject to the terms and conditions of individual Plans.

Company: Unum Join our talent community to receive notifications about jobs relevant to your interest. Join our Talent Community! At Unum Group, we're a Fortune 500 company and leading international provider of workplace benefits and services, helping workers and their families thrive for more than 175 years. Through our Unum and Colonial Life brands, our company offers disability, life, accident, critical illness, dental and vision insurance; leave and absence management support; and behavioral health services. Our 10,000+ employees work across operations in the US, UK and Poland, as well as our dedicated Technology Centre in Ireland.

Unum Group is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodations for any applicant with a disability. If you are disabled and need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or hiring process, please contact us by submitting a request here.