Employer Update

For a people person like NaTosha Palmer, working during a pandemic has forced some changes. As the new VRS account executive for Securian Financial, the third-party administrator for VRS' life insurance plan, the early getting-to-know-you portion of the job moved online to a world of Teams meetings and Zoom sessions.

"We just have to get creative in how we interact," Palmer said in a recent phone interview.

Palmer took over for Joe Chang, who retired in January after 34 years with Securian, and has spent her early days on the job reaching out to employers and working closely with VRS to ensure a smooth transition.

A 24-year veteran of the insurance industry, Palmer previously served portions of the VRS community as well as other state and municipal clients. Before joining Securian, she held relationship management positions at Wells Fargo and American Fidelity Assurance.

Her path to the insurance market began the moment she switched majors as a junior at Longwood University, from accounting to marketing. She had questioned whether a career in number-crunching was right for her and sought guidance from a counselor. Palmer's mother had passed away her junior year, which impressed upon her the impact life insurance – and ensuring one has enough coverage – can have on a family's financial security.

"When you close your eyes at night you want to make sure you have everything in place for your family," she said.

At Securian, Palmer is responsible for the overall relationship and servicing of employer-sponsored plans. In short, Palmer always wants to be "that person who educates employees about their benefits and counsels them about all the options available to them."

The kind words of family members even amid a heart-wrenching experience sustain her. "Those words mean I accomplished and succeeded in helping a family."

These early transition days have allowed Palmer to check in and get to know VRS employers, to ask them if things are running smoothly. "I really want to build off my predecessor's work. I have big shoes to fill, and I want to maintain (Securian's) reputation for gold-star service," she said. "This is a time for me to ask questions of employers, determine what they need and how they want us to work together."

If you have a question or just want to get acquainted, Palmer welcomes your emails and calls at natosha.palmer@securian.com or toll-free at 800-441-2258. And one day soon, she looks forward to meeting VRS employers in person.