Benefits Handbook

An employee who has been or will be absent from work due to a qualifying serious health condition for more than five (5) consecutive business days (seven (7) consecutive calendar days, including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) is required to file a claim for STD Benefits.

The filing of a claim is handled by two groups: the Marsh McLennan Leave Management Team (Leave Management) and an external Claims Administrator, The Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company (The Hartford).

Leave Management is responsible for determining whether an employee is eligible to participate in the STD Benefits Payroll Policy. Employees should refer to the "Participating in the STD Benefits Payroll Policy" sub-section to view the "Definition of an Eligible Employee" under the terms of the STD Benefits Payroll Policy. If it is determined that an employee is eligible to participate in the STD Benefits Payroll Policy, Leave Management will direct the employee to The Hartford.

Marsh McLennan has engaged The Hartford as its Claims Administrator and, in that role, The Hartford is responsible for making any other determination not within the responsibility of Leave Management as described above, including determining if an employee has a serious health condition, whether the employee qualifies to receive benefits under the STD Benefits Payroll Policy and the duration of any STD benefits.

To initiate the claim filing process, you should contact the Leave Management Team at +1 866 374 2662, Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time. You should contact Leave Management before an anticipated STD-qualifying absence begins (e.g., pregnancy, planned medical procedure), or as soon as you know or reasonably could expect that your absence due to a serious health condition may last more than five (5) consecutive business days (seven (7) consecutive calendar days, including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays). Each employee's STD claim will be assigned to a Leave Management representative.

The Leave Management representative will connect you to The Hartford's telephonic intake department to initiate an STD claim. The Hartford telephonic intake team is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Leave Management representative will send an overnight package to your home; this package contains the documents that you must complete or that you must have your health care provider complete to initiate an STD claim. These documents must be returned to The Hartford within 15 calendar days of receipt. Note that an employee's health care provider must be qualified to treat the serious health condition at issue.

Leave Management and The Hartford will notify you in writing if your documentation either (a) was not received with the 15-day period, or (b) was insufficient to make a determination. You will have one (1) additional week to either submit the appropriate documentation or return to work. If you fail to submit the required documentation by the end of the one-week period or do not return to work, your employment will be terminated and treated as a voluntary resignation.

If you and your health care provider do not provide The Hartford with the requested information within the appropriate time frame and you have not yet returned to work, Leave Management will apply any paid entitlements (e.g., vacation, PTO, Sick Days) to cover your absence, and if/when you do not have any available paid entitlements, you will not be paid for any time you are out of work. If The Hartford received the requested information and issues a determination of eligibility for benefits, you will be paid STD benefits, and any paid entitlements used to cover that period will be reinstated. If STD benefits are not approved by The Hartford, Leave Management will apply any accrued unused paid time off (e.g., vacation, PTO, Sick Days) to offset this overpayment and you will be required to repay any remaining overpayment.

You are responsible for any costs you incurred to qualify, or continue to qualify, for STD Benefits, including costs associated with exams or visits to a health care provider, providing medical records, and/or completing required paperwork.