As the face and voice of our organization to customers worldwide, MetLife’s Global Customer Service and Operations team members stand at the center of the customer experience, weaving threads of connection into their day-to-day that define our commitment to customer care excellence. In this blog series, you will hear from various team members across different teams and functions. In our first interview, we sat down with Cara Mootz, Senior Long-Term Disability (LTD) Claims Specialist, as she shares insights into her role, growth opportunities she’s encountered, and the sense of alignment she feels to our purpose: Always with you, building a more confident future. Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Cara Mootz, Senior Long-Term Disability Claims Specialist
Q: Tell us a little bit more about your role, Cara!
A: Happy to! As a Senior Long-Term Disability (LTD) Claims Specialist, I am responsible for prioritizing and managing a caseload of long-term disability claims for group customers. This means that I review a claimants or business needs/requirements and ensure that I am not only satisfying their needs, but that I am also representing the best of what we offer at MetLife.
My day-to-day usually consists of educating claimants on the appropriate plan provisions that apply to their claim, handling their claims in a timely manner, ensuring that all financials are appropriately investigated and paid out to the claimant, and most importantly – creating a strong rapport built on compassion and empathy.
The role requires me to think critically and creatively about how I can help the claimant holistically, with consideration of what support they need now and what they need long-term to be able to go back to work. To identify the latter, we on the LTD team help formulate a solution to support the claimant based on the limitations they’re presenting and may leverage medical resources such as vocational specialists or clinicians, where needed. It’s a team effort, and I’m always working hard to ensure the claimant feels heard and knows that I have their back every step of the way.
Q: What opportunities are available for growth on the team?
A: There are many ways one could grow at MetLife – whether that is laterally across different teams and departments or vertically within a particular area of expertise! When I joined the organization five years ago, the insurance space, let alone the role of an LTD claims specialist, was all new to me. I had a passion for working with people, years of retail and retail management experience under my belt, and an innate desire to marry those passions and experiences into a new career journey.
I joined the team as a Trainee, where I went through our six-week training course that was filled with hands-on learning. From there, I grew through the ranks to an LTD Claims Specialist and am now a Senior LTD Claims Specialist. If I plan to grow upward within the department, the next stages are a Lead Claims Specialist, a Claims Support Specialist, followed by a Unit Leader. The growth I’ve undergone over my five-year journey thus far is all thanks to the tools, training and resources that are provided to us. I would also be remiss if I did not mention my supportive leadership, who I meet with regularly to discuss my individual goals and receive their guidance on how to achieve them.
At this moment in time, I have found a huge interest in our Fraud-waste and Abuse team, and I am currently going through a weekly job shadowing rotation to uncover if this is where I want to take my career next. I truly believe the sky is the limit here.
Q: How do you feel your work aligns with MetLife’s Purpose: Always with you, building a more confident future?
A: I have never felt more aligned to a company’s purpose than I do at MetLife, both personally and in the work that I do. On a day-to-day basis I speak with claimants who typically just received life-altering news. That could be anything from a terminal illness diagnosis to a new mother starting parental leave seeking guidance on where to go from here. Each scenario is unique, every conversation is handled with delicate care, and I always reassure everyone that I speak with that I will be with them every step of the way.
Q: What aspects of our Global Customer Service and Operations organization do you enjoy the most?
A: First and foremost, I would say the support that I receive, which comes from all directions. I work fully remote, and yet I still feel immensely supported and connected to my colleagues and leaders. To me, that speaks volumes to the type of supportive culture we have here. Some of my favorite days are the ones in which we all head into our local office for team collaboration. I love the flexibility of being remote, but nothing beats getting to spend in-person time with your team that feels like a family.
Secondly, I value the overall company culture. At MetLife, we care for each other and work hard to uplift one another every single day. An example of where I personally experience this outside of my day-to-day role, is through our Buddy Program where mentors are aligned to new hires that recently joined the team. As a mentor, I meet with my new hire mentees once a week for 16-weeks to provide support and answer any questions that they have. At MetLife, we say it’s All Together Possible. I couldn’t agree with that statement more! We’re all supporting one another for similar goals, and when one of a succeeds we all succeed.
We hope you enjoyed hearing from Cara! Stay tuned to hear from another member of MetLife's Global Customer Service and Operations team in the coming days.
Interested in joining us? Learn more about MetLife’s Customer Care and Operations teams here.
