Group Market News
Published October 7, 2019
Our Alaska sales team is passionate about making healthcare work better. Get to know the team that helps you make a difference in our customers’ lives.
Name: Ellen Izer
Job title: Strategic Account Manager
How long have you worked at Premera? I’ll reach my two-year anniversary with the Alaska team in January 2020.
Please describe your role at Premera: As an account manager I work with a diverse set of brokers and groups with a wide array of plan benefits. It is a challenge to keep it all straight and I try to be just a little smarter every day about insurance.
What drew you to the healthcare industry? After more than 25 years in the banking industry, where I worked in human resources managing benefits and payroll, I felt like I needed to stretch and grow in a new way. Working in benefits was the best part of my old job, so I jumped at the chance to come to Premera, even though I was a senior vice president in my previous role. I have no regrets with that decision, I’m very glad to be here even though I am still learning.
What is your favorite part of working at Premera? What I love about my role is the people I meet within Premera and those I meet while doing my job in the community. Everyone is so different and yet you can always build a rapport with everyone if you take the time to listen to what makes the other person special.
How do you passionately advocate for our customers? I am sure there are internal departments that get a little tired of me asking for things for our customers. If you don’t ask the answer is always no, right? I want to give them the best quality service that I can. As a prior group administrator, I see things through their eyes and look for solutions to make their lives easier.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Head West! I have lived all over the world and finding a place to settle down probably came straight from a good black-and-white Western movie.
What are your hobbies and interests outside of work? I love exploring Alaska, which I think most of us in Alaska do, whether it is fishing, hiking, or looking for Northern Lights in the night sky. Alaska is a very special place with beauty that surrounds us. I also occasionally take a trip to Hawaii to get out of the cold for a couple of weeks!