About the Study

Our goal is to shorten claim durations and improve claim outcomes. For you, this means getting your plan members back to work sooner.

Claims must meet specific criteria (see below) before we use the questionnaire. This means that during the study period, some plan members will receive the questionnaire, and others will not.

The questionnaire will help us:

  • Improve our ability to identify case complexity and our understanding of return-to-work barriers.
  • Focus the conversation between the plan member and disability case manager during functional telephone interviews. This can help us identify optimum recovery strategies at an earlier stage.

How The Claim Lab questionnaire will help

The questionnaire assesses psychosocial factors that may influence a plan member’s disability recovery. It provides insight into a plan member’s desire or motivation for recovery using several key factors. These include:

  • their drive to get better,
  • support networks,
  • psychological state - with mental health scale measures,
  • physical abilities,
  • financial and lifestyle situations, and
  • work and job satisfaction.

Claims criteria – how it works

We’re testing the questionnaire with specific short-term disability (STD) and select long-duration claims.

  1. Mental health-related STD claims. Once we approve a claim, the questionnaire will help validate claim complexity. It will also help us determine whether we need to take additional action. If warranted, the disability case manager will refer a claim to the Director, Mental Health Solutions. This can provide us with a better understanding of optimal recovery opportunities.
  2. Select long-duration disability claims. Questionnaires will be sent only on small sample of long duration claims that meet very specific criteria. The questionnaire will help us better identify opportunities for:
  • non-litigated settlements,
  • risk management, and
  • continued entitlement – if the plan member can continue to receive disability payments.

For now, we’re excluding all salary continuance/ASO claims.

When will we have results to share?

We look forward to sharing some initial results midway through the study in 2022. We’ll share final results a few months after the study ends.

Questions?

If you have fewer than 50 employees, please contact your Client Service Administrator at 1-877-786-7227. 

If you have more than 50 employees, please contact your Sun Life Group Benefits representative.