Spotlight on our people

Meet Don, our Claims Intake Director

Don has been working in Group Benefit Solutions for 31 years. He was part of this business group prior to it being acquired by New York Life a few years ago. He has served in a variety of roles, but for the last seven years, he has served as our Director of Claims Intake. In this role, Don leads and mentors a team of claims professionals who are responsible for reviewing all new disability claim submissions, ensuring that we have all the information we need from members to make a timely decision, while providing them the help and support they need.

We’ve asked Don to share a few highlights of the work that he’s doing here at New York Life Group Benefit Solutions.

What do you feel is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

The most rewarding aspect of my job is knowing that I am making a difference in peoples lives. This not only goes for our customers and clients that we serve, but also the claim managers and customer advocates I get to mentor every day. Helping people is what led me into this career and I feel highly rewarded because I know that I can make a difference.

Other things I enjoy about my job are team collaboration, variety and engaging work, continuous learning and the opportunity to connect my career with my passions.

You mentioned that helping people is what led you to this career, can you elaborate on that?

My father was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in 1988. He underwent many surgeries over the years and endured radiation and chemotherapy throughout his battle. I was home visiting from college and he mentioned that he was so thankful for the support he had received from the people who were managing his disability claim.

He would often talk about Marcy (his long-term disability claim manager) and just how kind she was, and that she made disability leave stress free for he and my mom. He mentioned that she always did what she said she was going to do, she was always timely, and communicated well with any actions my father had to take. He said that with all the stressors he had to deal with, Marcy made the LTD piece worry-free and no words could ever thank her enough for how much he valued her.

I knew from my father’s experience that this was a path for me. I too wanted to be someone’s Marcy.  So, when it came time to embark on my career journey, I knew I would pursue something in insurance. I am going to date myself here, but I saw an employment ad in the newspaper and decided to apply. I got an interview with the Director of the Life and AD&D Department and was offered a position before I even left the building. So, this started the 31-year journey that led me here today.

What excites you most about what you’re working on now?

There’s still a lot that gets me excited about my job everyday, but I’m really excited and grateful to be a part of the continuous improvement work that is underway here. The great thing about this work is that it empowers me and my team to identify barriers in our day-to-day work that may prevent us from achieving service excellence with every customer we touch.

We’ve built a process so that opportunities can be identified and quickly actioned on, enabling us to implement change and achieve immediate improvement in some cases. Of course, some items may take longer to solve, but every suggestion that is served up from our service professionals are being given the time and attention they deserve. Anything we can do, big or small, to create a consistent, valued service experience for our customers, many of whom who reach out to us during difficult times of need, is a win in my book.