2024 Benefits Essentials Training

Grow Your Skills

Join The Standard's experienced staff of Employee Benefits experts for 2.5 days of training in Portland, Oregon. You'll walk away with the knowledge you need to manage the Group Life and Disability portion of your book of business, for all clients, and across any carrier.

Our training provides a deeper understanding of life and disability risks, customer needs and problem solving. Our Group Life and Disability insurance isn't an add-on business either – it's our primary business. Our expertise encompasses the full spectrum of life, disability – from underwriting, plan design and claims handling to worksite and job analysis and rehabilitation. For you, that means having distinct advantages that work harder to support you, your customers, and your goals.

Who Should Attend

Our school is designed to give Employee benefits producers, brokers, consultants, marketers, analysts and account managers (with fewer than 3 years of experience), the knowledge they need to best service their block of business. Those with more than 3 years of experience working primarily on medical insurance may also benefit from the training.

Learning Objectives

The intensive curriculum is designed to teach key principles and skills including how to:

• Understand essential elements of Group Life and LTD contracts, from design and structure to language and underwriting principles
• Utilize industry best-practices in Group Life and Disability claims handling
• Effectively communicate the need for disability insurance
• Evaluate Group Life, Disability and Worksite proposals from carriers
• Treat Group Life, Disability and Worksite premiums and benefits for tax purposes

What Past Attendees Have to Say

"Each of the presenters obviously had a proficiency and mastery of their subjects and really talked to the important points. I learned some valuable insight into the finer parts of life and disability insurance and this understanding will help me hone in on important details in my next life/disability marketing."

"The information in the meetings was very helpful and applicable to all size accounts. The speakers did a great job of talking to us and not over us. What a great way for The Standard to not only build their relationships but allow brokers to build relationships with other brokers. Yes, the other brokers are our competition, but that was never an issue last week at all; we all had so many common thoughts and concerns. It was all just really good!”"

About The Standard

Since 1906, The Standard has helped people achieve financial security so they can confidently pursue their dreams.

Approximately 8.5 million people across the country depend on our financial products and services. But even more than our products, it is our industry-recognized expertise and singular focus on customer service that set us apart. At The Standard, we offer a positively different way of doing things and we take pride in earning and keeping your business.

2023 Benefits Essentials Training Agenda

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does the school cost?
The training, class materials, meals and entertainment, hotel accommodations, and transportation between AC Hotel and Portland International Airport are all provided to you compliments of The Standard. The only cost to your organization is your airfare and hotel incidentals. The value is $1500 per student.

What about travel arrangements and lodging?
You will need to book your own flight. Please plan to arrive in Portland by Noon on Tuesday, May 14 and to leave after 7 p.m. on Thursday May 16 or anytime on Friday, May 17. Your hotel reservation and airport transfers will be arranged by The Standard after your flight information is received. You will stay, courtesy of The Standard, at AC Hotel.

Who should I provide my flight information to?
Please send your flight information to Lori Martin, The Standard's program manager. Lori can be reached by email lori.martin@standard.com or phone 503-964-3157. She will confirm your arrival and departure times, reserve your hotel room, and schedule your airport transfers.

Where will the meetings take place?
All meetings will be held at The Standard Building Atrium, 900 SW Fifth Avenue, Lobby Level.

What is the dress code?
Smart casual. This means nice jeans are allowed. The Pacific Northwest is pretty casual in general, and none of the events planned in conjunction with the school requires formal attire. Rain is always a possibility in Portland. So, you may want to pack a small travel umbrella or light jacket.

Can I receive CE credit for attending?
The Benefits Essentials Training is approved for continuing education credit for Life/Health insurance licenses in most states. You will receive complete information about the number of hours for your state prior to the event.

May I bring a guest?
Guests may not attend our training however they are welcome to share your hotel room or book their own. We do invite them to attend our Thursday night function if they wish.

Jared Benedetti, FSA
Consulting Actuary

Jared has been with The Standard since 1994 when he began as an Associate Underwriter. After three years he became a Pricing Actuary and then AVP Underwriting in 2009. He has been a Consulting Actuary since 2016.

His areas of expertise include, actuarial, financial reporting, underwriting, sales negation, competitor intelligence and claims administration.

Rob Stein
Sr. Director, Actuary

Rob has worked as an actuary at the Standard since 2003, primarily working in Employee Benefits with a 3-year rotation in Corporate Actuarial. His focus has been on Pricing related functions and he has expertise in rate development, pricing strategy, underwriting, product development, valuation, projection modeling, asset liability management, investments, financial reporting, management, and training. He has been in a director role managing a small team since 2014. Rob has a B.A. in Mathematics from Augustana College and an M.S. in Mathematical Statistics from Portland State University.

Karl Goetze
Manager, Risk Management

Karl is responsible for facilitating and fostering sound underwriting and business decisions of a team of underwriters. The long-term goal is to sell, grow and retain long term business by managing the day-to-day production activities of the team. Karl joined the Standard as an Associate Underwriter in 1996.

Prior to his current position, Karl was the Director of Underwriting for Regional Accounts and served as the Regional Vice President for the Western Region.

Karl holds a B.A in Business Administration from Linfield College. He has also earned an M.B.A in Financial Management from City University of Seattle.

Brian Pemberton
Manager, Risk Management, Southeast Regional Accounts

Brian is responsible for managing a team of Underwriters working on cases up to 2,500 lives. He joined The Standard in 2009 as an associate underwriter. Prior to his current position, Brian was a Sales/Service Manager for a large national bank.

Brian holds a bachelor's degree from University of Oregon.

Christine Woolsey
National Accounts Benefits Consultant- Life

Christine spent time working in Social Services before coming to The Standard as a Life Claims Examiner where she utilized her background working with people to focus on the customer's experience. Christine then transitioned into her current position as a National Account Benefit Consultant where she works with both internal and external partners as the subject matter expert for our Life Insurance products and claims processes. She provides support and consultation from a life benefits perspective to sell, install, service and retain large and complex group accounts. Christine holds a B.S. in Human Services from Oregon State University.

Scott Wegner
National Accounts Benefits Consultant

Scott joined The Standard in October 1999 as a Benefits Analyst managing Long Term Disability (LTD) claims. He has experience working with both small and large employers and has been an Account Manager for our large National Account customers. After progressing through the Benefits Analyst job family, he held a consulting role for our Benefits department. Scott subsequently moved into our Short-Term Disability (STD) Department as a Manager of a STD unit and then the Director of our STD Claim Intake area before spending time as Director of our Employee Benefits (EB) Contact Center Organization overseeing all of our EB Contact Center and Claim Intake product and service lines. Scott is currently a National Accounts Benefits Consultant for our Life and Disability Services organization. He has a BS degree from Linfield College.

Dan Jolivet
Director Disability Medical Services

Daniel N. Jolivet, Ph.D., is the Behavioral Health Director at The Standard, where he leads the Behavioral Health Case Manager (BHCM) team and manages the psychiatrist & psychologist Peer Consultants. He is a clinical psychologist licensed in Georgia and Oregon and has worked in behavioral health since 1981.

Dan is also the Practice Leader for Motivational Interviewing (MI) and goal-directed case management at The Standard.

Prior to joining The Standard, Dan worked in Managed Behavioral Healthcare Organizations (MBHOs) for twenty years in a variety of management roles, and he was in clinical practice as a child psychologist until 2003.

Nathan Keyes
Director, Actuary

Nathan has worked at The Standard for over 17 years, with more than 15 years in Employee Benefits Actuarial. His key responsibilities include manual rate algorithms, Absence Management pricing and rate filing. Designations include FSA, MAAA, and CERA.

Tanya Merritt, FLMI
Lead Underwriter

Tanya joined The Standard in 2007 as an Underwriting Assistant in our Individual Disability Insurance (IDI) Department. She has also served as an Underwriter, Senior Underwriter, Customer Management Specialist in IDI and Underwriting Analyst on our National Accounts underwriting team, and now Lead Underwriter for the Western Region. She has achieved her Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) designation from the Life Office Management Association (LOMA) in 2011. Tanya earned her bachelor's degree in finance from Syracuse University.

Katrina Smith
National Practice leader - Absence Management

Katrina has over 20 years of experience overseeing human resource operations for companies across a variety of industries. She began her career as an HR generalist and has spent the past decade honing her expertise around FMLA, ADAAA, Short Term Disability and Long Term Disability programs. Katrina has been a National Practice Leader for Absence Management at The Standard since 2020, but prior to this spent 10 years in industry with another TPA. Her deep understanding of multi-state regulatory compliance informs her strategic approach to building effective Absence Management programs for The Standard's customers.

Brandon Little

National Accounts Benefits Consultant

Brandon joined The Standard in June of 2001 as a part of our Marketing Department working in Enrollment Services. He became a part of the Life Department in May of 2006 as a Life Benefits Processor, being promoted to the role of Life Benefits Analyst in May of 2008 and promoted again to the role of Senior Life Benefits Analyst of the Central Region Life Team in February 2011. Beginning May 2015, he moved into the role of National Accounts Benefit Consultant for The Standard's Life Insurance product. During his nine years in the Life Department and twenty years with The Standard he has gained a broad range of knowledge and experience.

Denise Parkrosz

ACS, National Accounts Benefits Consultant

Denise is a National Accounts Benefits Consultant for The Standard's Eastern Region. She began her career at The Standard in 1994 and has over 26 years of disability insurance experience. Prior to working at The Standard, Denise worked as an internal auditor in the banking industry. Denise earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Gonzaga University. Denise has achieved her Associate, Customer Service (ACS) professional designations from the Life Office Management Association (LOMA).

Katrina Smith 
National Practice Leader for Absence Management

Katrina has over 20 years of experience overseeing and partnering with human resource operations for companies across a variety of industries. She began her career as an HR generalist and then transitioned to honing her expertise around FMLA, ADAAA, Short Term Disability and Long-Term Disability programs for the past decade. Katrina has been a National Practice Leader for Absence Management at The Standard since 2020, but prior to this spent 10 years in industry with another TPA. Her deep understanding of multi-state regulatory compliance informs her strategic approach to building effective Absence Management programs for The Standard's customers.

Sharon Persad
National Practice Leader for Absence Management

In this role Sharon partners with sales, clients, and brokers to provide education and thought leadership relating to outsourcing absence management and disability management. Sharon joined The Standard in 2016 as an Absence Management Consultant. Her experience includes consultation and development of compliant Absence Management programs. She has extensive experience across the lifecycle of the customer including proposals, sales, implementation, ongoing management, training, and consultation. She has over 20 years of group benefits insurance industry experience in Absence Management, STD, and LTD including 10 years of leadership experience. Prior to joining Standard, she held various roles including Claims Manager and Absence Service Manager at other large insurance carriers and TPA's. Sharon holds a bachelor's degree in Finance from University of Central Florida.

Melanie De Silva
Workplace Possibilities Coordinator

Melanie first joined The Standard as a nurse case manager in 2003 after working as an NICU nurse, running organ donation cases for the State of New Mexico, and managing an apheresis unit of the American Red Cross. She has been a WPP coordinator for the last 6 years and previously worked in various departments withing The Standard including, short term disability, long term disability, and life waiver. Melanie graduated with a Nursing Degree from Conestoga College Ontario, Canada and a Bachelor of Science from the University of St. Francis. She is a Certified Professional in Disability Management.

Beth Rourk
Disability and Productivity Consultant

Beth joined The Standard in 2010 as a Nurse Case Manager supporting Long Term Disability (LTD) claims. She transferred to the Workplace Possibilities (WPP) department, working directly with employers to provide return to work and ADAAA Accommodation services to employees. Beth currently works to implement WPP and ADA programs for employers and supports sales and account staff on proposals and new business.

Prior to joining The Standard, Beth worked as a Registered Nurse for over 20 years in various clinical and research positions.

Jessica Kuehne
Disability and Productivity Consultant

Over the course of the past 8 years, Jessica has worked in a few different roles at The Standard including, Workplace Possibilities Coordinator and LTD Vocational Case Manager. Jessica brings an extensive background in vision loss and has worked variety of rehabilitation sectors providing return to work and ergonomic services. She holds a MS in Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling and a certification as Rehabilitation Counselor.

Brendan Flynn, 
Workplace Possibilities Coordinator

Brendan coordinates the Workplace Possibilities Program (WPP) services for a variety of employer groups. This includes the coordination of return-to-work case management and stay at work assessments. Brendan serves at the primary point of contact for employers and employees on WPP related activities.

Brendan has been with The Standard for 15 years and has worked in a variety of roles. This includes supporting both Short- and Long-Term disability internal/external customers as a Vocational Case Manager and as a Manager in the Disability Management Resources department.

Brendan is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC) and long-standing Board Member at Large of the Oregon Chapter of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals. He holds a B.S. in Applied Psychology from St. Could State University and M.S. in Counselor Education-Rehabilitation from Portland State University.

Todd Meier
Disability and Productivity Consultant, Workplace Possibilities Program

Todd is responsible for managing the design and implementation of Workplace Possibilities and ADA services with our policyholders,' innovating and optimizing services aimed at assisting our Insured Members. Todd joined the Standard as a Vocational Case Manager in 2006.

Prior to working for the Standard, Todd worked with disabled American Veterans, assessing, coordinating training, ergonomics, counseling needs, activities of daily living, aptitude testing, and case management. Todd is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC), and Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS), Certified ADA Administrator, and Certified Ergonomic Evaluator Specialist (CEES) and has Master's in Education and Rehabilitation Counseling.

Colleen Cormack
Workplace Possibilities Coordinator

Colleen joined The Standard in 2016 serving as a Vocational Case Manager in Long Term Disability and transitioned to her current position with the Workplace Possibilities program in 2018. As a WPP Coordinator, Colleen, assists customer groups and their employees with reducing disability related costs and initiating claim prevention measures by identifying barriers to employment and productivity, and presenting and implementing solutions. Prior to her current position, Colleen was a private Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor assisting individuals with severe physical and cognitive injuries as they navigated the return-to-work process.

Jeff McDougald
Sr. Mid-Market Underwriter, South

Jeff is an Sr. Underwriter on The Standard’s South Mid-Market Underwriting Team. Jeff joined The Standard in 1996 and has 28 years of underwriting experience. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University.

Amber Coe
Sr. Mid-Market Underwriter, Northeast 

Amber been with The Standard since 2014 and been an underwriter since 2015, currently underwriting cases with 1,000 to 4,999 lives. In addition to her current position, she has also served as a Rating Analyst. Amber graduated from Portland State University with a BS in Human Resources Management in June 2018.