Great-West Life Disability Insurance Reviews

I have rhuematoid arthritis, have been on LTD almost a month. The claims adjuster I have has the personality of a door knob. She calls and bugs me every 4 to 6 weeks. Even though I have anemia and elevated inflammation levels she still asks me why I cant go back to work? Maybe its because I can't stay awake and have deformed joints etc etc. She scolds me as if I am a child. I feel harassed and not sure what to do. The amount I get is a complete joke each month, too bad my employer chose this joke of a company.

In response to the other reviews, notably the one made by the reviewer on September 6th... I have had the exact same experience with the Winnipeg Office! They have told me they haven't received forms, which I have returned to them and if they didn't receive them, my benefits would cease. I have received nothing but threats on how they would close my file if I can't get information to them by a particular date. The latest was after not receiving my benefits because my file had been transferred to someone else , hence I was not paid and received payment 5 days late after inquiring. Following my inquiry, I asked if I should provide the same update, I had given my old case manager, by calling my new one. I was told there was no need and my message would be passed along to him. I clearly stated that I would be happy to provide further information upon request and was still told that would not be necessary. That same day, GWL drafted a letter and put it in the mail and I received the letter 8 days later since it had been mailed on a long weekend. I was told I had until October 1st to have my doctor provide them with a consolation report... pretty vague. Obviously due to mailing time, I had two weeks to reach my doc or get an appt and have the paper work submitted or else my benefits would cease as of Oct. 1. Why the new case manager would not have picked up the phone to introduce himself and let me know that the letter was being sent an this what would be requested. I asked him why GWL wouldn't contact my doctor like they had in the past and he said, "I guess I could fax her the letter I sent to you." They play head games with you and do everything to break you down... it's completely unethical!!!!

I was a full time employee until i had severe migraines at work and had to stop. I have been on LTD for 3 years now. They originally denied my claim where I was told it would take 2-4 weeks for an appeal decision, it took over a year and a half of waiting with no money coming in. I went into financial hardship, could not pay my mortgage or bills. Thankfully I had a partner to support me otherwise what if i had no one, I would be out on the streets for their BS when i had all the medical documentation to prove my case. This company couldnt care less about their so called clients. Once I was finally approved, they had to back pay me which helped. I tried to RTW after 2 years and when i was supposed to be doing a gradual RTW, they just dropped me and canceled all my benefits and said my claim was closed. They never gave me any support through the gradual RTW process, the new job supervisor had no idea i was on an LTD to begin with, they never communicated anything and left it all up to me when i had no idea what the process was being my first time going thru this. I struggled and had to go back on LTD which they denied again saying i was fine. Again I have a new case worker who is pushing me to RTW and do long shifts when i cannot. They are careless, they only care about getting rid of you, thats their mission. Most inhumane, careless company i have ever dealt with. HATE THEM WITH A PASSION.

This is the worst of the worst. Was put on short term disability for heart issue, doctor would not renew my licence and I drive truck for a living. Had to wait 7 1/2 weeks for first pay cheque, and was about 1/4 of what I made. The Evil witch that looked after my claim could not give a care of my condition, she told me that I was running out of short term disability and if I applied for long term disability I probably would not get it, because not being able to drive is not covered, and I live 50 miles from work.
I had several claims with this company, because the company I work for goes with GWL, and every time just very negative. One time had dentist work done and was in the dentist chair, and dentist was doing work on my teeth, they tried submitting claim to see if I would be covered, and GWL wanted to talk to me to ask me a bunch of personal questions to verify it was me, I felt like 2 inches tall. The only people I would recommend this company to is my enemy's.

So I had a short term disability claim. I will be honest I had waited quite a while before I submitted it for personal reasons. This however does not justify the following.

1st, I submitted my claim as a short term claim. I was told it would take approx one week for it to get processed and to a claim manager. 19 days later I noticed the women I was dealing with kept typing "long term claim" and it took an additional week to convince her otherwise.

So a manager calls me to apologize for the error and tells me my claim will now be rushed. Great right?

A week later I still hear nothing so I call in and email some more.

They deny my claim because "I had waited longer then the 10 limit to submit my claim" No where on any paper work did I read there was a 10 window.

So back to the grind, luckily I write contracts for a living. I am good at what I do. So after describing to her in very small words just how wrong she was I was told her manager would double check her work. At this point I demanded her managers FULL name and email. They will fight you on this but it is important to know in case you end up taking legal action.

Eventually she realized I was right and would not give up my fight. (I am Irish I will spend any money to not be taken advantage of)

My claim is now approved. She informs me accounting will take 2-3 days to deposit my funds.

2 weeks I wait. So back to the phone. I am repeatedly told to just give it another day or two. Turns out they mailed me a check, to an address I rarely use.

The whole process is a nightmare. They will automatically deny your claim to save money and pad their bonus account. You will have to dig in and fight. Be polite, and angry. Do not give up your fight. Make them know you have every intention of winning. Or even better, choose ANY other insurance company. This was not my first issue with GWL but it certainly will be my last.

Good luck.

My experience with GWL has been nothing but awful. I'm currently out on disability (have been since Nov.), and all they have done is give me the run around. They paid my claim up to Dec. 2 and refused to pay further. I started the appeal process right away and have still gotten no where with them.
The customer services is a joke. The person that I deal with doesn't even pretend to care. On multiple occasions, she's said "I'll look over your information or whatever and get back to you." Whatever? Really? Talk about lack of professionalism. She has also flat out lied about faxing out important documents to my doctor to fill out.
Ex. She said she had faxed a questionnaire for my doctor to fill out to move the appeal process along. I then found out that she didn't fax it until 6 days after my conversation with her. She misspelled my name on part of the questionnaire and put on it symptoms that I never said I had.
As of today, I left her a message informing her that I knew she was lying and that if my claim is not approved by the end of next week, I'll be going above her.
My advice: Avoid GWL like the plague and spread the word that they are a company that doesn't care about helping people. If you are unfortunate enough to have to deal with them at some point, just remember: They want to wait you out and force you back to work. Don't let them. Stay on top of your claim and call them daily.

I have the worst experience in my life with GWL! My doctor gave me a document according to which I need to stay in bed rest because there is a risk for my unborn baby. GWL made me wait for nearly two months without an income and then called me to tell me that my claim has been declined. They said that my condition wasn`t as severe as my doctor suggests!!! I am still waiting for the refusal letter so that I could appeal and eventually apply for sickness benefits through EI. I feel terrible and really depressed from the way they treated me. On top of everything I owe them $246 every month in order to keep my health benefits active. Where will I find this money if I haven`t had any income for two months now? I used to use Sun Life and was very happy with them but unfortunately the company I work for has a contract with this terrible GWL and I`m outraged.

Extremely bad customer service within the Disability office. They do not return calls. The 1-800 phone number states they are closed, even though they are open and during office hours. Case manager extensions not working. I just switched from short term to long term on Jan 13. My LTD is approved. I did not receive any money on my regular payday. It is now Jan 29th and have been without pay for a month. NSF charges through my bank, missed car payment. At no time did I received a call or letter from them advising me that this would happen. How are we supposed to live? My mental state is back to being as bad as t was when I went onto disability. I'm so stressed out. I have no food, no gas, I owe large amounts of money now. Why would my case manager not call to advise me? I have no idea when to expect my LTD pay which is already lower than my actual pay so god knows how I assn going to get caught up! This treatment is not right. Great West Life dies not care.

I've had the displeasure of dealing with GWL for 4 seperate Short-Term Disability leaves due to a chronic illness. All they care about is getting you back to work, even if you are struggling horribly and have no quality of life. In the last year I've missed a total of 5 months of work yet with every claim they act like it's some short-term illness that will clear up soon. I have proper documentation from my GP as well as a specialist, and my doctor is frustrated with them as well. If you have to fax something in, be prepared to fax it a dozen times yet still have them claim they never received it and threaten not to pay you. This has happened with EVERY claim I've made, and I triple checked the fax number, and confirmed it sent. I'd call after sending to let them know I sent it, only to get a call back A WEEK later telling me it never came. They never answer their phones which is not a big deal, but they take a week to return calls. My claims adjustor does not seem to actually be aware of what my condition is, as I am constantly having to remind her of my limitations despite the fact that my doctor details all of this in the forms he sent in to them. The stress of dealing with them is sure not making things any easier on me.