If you are considering submitting a disability insurance claim, or have been denied disability, the following are significant:
Timing. If you are instructed to apply for disability, make sure you communicate with your employer and the insurance provider about meeting deadlines. If you don't know the application deadline, ask for clarification. You don't want to miss a limitations deadline.
Go to your doctor and tell them you want to apply for disability. Your insurance provider is going to ask for proof that you discussed disability with a medical doctor / family physician.
Keep records of your treatments with physiotherapists, chiropractors, psychologists etc. in your phone or a journal to prove you are regularly getting care. This is called mitigation. Insurance providers always want proof you are following usual and customary treatment for a disabling condition.
Take notes on ALL conversations you have on the phone or emails with the insurance company and your assigned disability case manager or employer assistance. If your claim is denied, the file notes containing what was said about your disability are critical evidence.
Be honest with your doctor about your mental and physical health. Frequently patients only talk about their most serious symptom with their doctor and that's all that is recorded in a patient record for one visit. Disability cases are frequently decided based on multiple symptoms caused by injuries or disease.
Assume that the insurance company is checking your social media, your online activity, and may even hire a private investigator to follow you. If you participate in public activities and post about them, the insurance company may use your posting as "proof" that you are not disabled.
SLSPC offers free, confidential consultations at 416-644-3999 or info@slspc.ca. We have been in business since 1998, and have assisted thousands of clients with disability claims from all of the major insurance companies.