Great-West Life Disability Insurance Reviews
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My experience was horrible with GWL. The case manager was ignorant, rude, illogical, unfair, deceptive. Despite my medical MRI with severe neural stenosis, they reject my case with deceptive, barbaric, sub-standard and uncivilized policy. Shame on my employer, the worst authorities to work for. I regret paying 20 years to this reptilian, greedy, inhuman company. We live under dictatorship and chaos. No wonder why we have a chronic shortage of skilled workers :( Our history is full of abusive policies which puts Canada down in the eyes of "well-developed" countries. The medical system is doomed to crash and if nothing else, suffering will do the job to wake us up.
I have health insurance through work (AHS), applied for short-term disability and got denied. Have all the documentation from physician and specialist but yet I was denied. Why are we even paying premiums? Those adjusters don't even have medical backgrounds yet they decide how an insurance is judged!
The case manager of my short term disability stopped my benefits claim by changing my original injury claim of a dislocated shoulder to a strain/sprained shoulder muscle. Then the case manager took what a consulting physician said in a report and twisted it, omitting other medical facts of my file, facts that would keep me in the system. The manager only used those utterances to justify her argument. Basically lied to cut me off. Right now I'm in the second appeal stage, appealing to the very people that are causing me the problems. This is borderline criminal behaviour. And I'm still off work.
Have been trying for months to cancel my critical illness and disability insurance policies. Originally spoke with a rep in July, who was unable to help me and told me to phone another line. They only take calls M-F 8-4:30(I also work the same hours). So it was weeks before I was able to actually speak with anyone. I spoke with multiple reps in July, who told me different things, left a message to a supervisor, mailed in a letter in August, emailed their client services in October. No one has ever reached out to me, then Dec. 1st rolls around and I get billed again! I'm glad I never had to process a claim with them, but at this rate, I'll probably be stuck with them until I retire. What a joke, this company is a total scam.
I started getting dizzy and sick spells at work, so went to hospital! The first diagnosis was vertigo, so they put me off for 2 weeks until I could see my family physician! His first diagnosis was vertigo and he referred me to ear Dr and sent me for tests and put me off for a month until my next appt! All this being sent to my work and Great-West Life! Dr appts blood tests, ear specialist - ear tests, CT scan etc. Went on for next several months with everything being sent to Great-West Life and they kept making excuses why they couldn't approve my claim! It wasn't until my CT scan came back with a spot showing up that they decided to review my claim which was 12 weeks from the time I started feeling ill! They had 3 Drs' letters telling them I was sick but yet they said they had to send to their in-house Dr who denied the claim! I had to appeal 2 times and finally it went to upper management for review and they approved my short term after 13 weeks! I was so far behind on my bills and my house had gone to mortgage holders' lawyers to foreclose on my house! To total amount owing to save my house because I missed some payments due to Great-West Life giving me the runaround was 8500 dollars and needed to be paid in full! 3200 for mortgage and 5300 thrown out the window for lawyers' fees! Not to mention my credit ruined also! Totally ridiculous. People pay into this insurance company for security just in case something happens that they are unable to work but yet when the person needs help, they do everything they can not to pay! I'm still ill and had an MRI and something has shown up, so need to go back for more head scans yet Great-West Life is saying I have to wait for all the results for them to even consider my claim! It's been another 12 weeks with no money and now bills are slipping again and I had to ask the Dr to write a note saying I can work when I'm still very ill! I can only make it to work for a few hours on some days and have to go home to lay down and some days I can't even function to drive there! I'm not sure how other group insurance companies are but if your employer is using Great-West Life, they should change companies for their employees' sake! I'm wondering how many lawsuits they have had to deal with over the years because as soon as I find out there is something seriously wrong with me, if there is, I will def be going to a lawyer for the hardship they have caused me! I wish there was a zero or - rating for this terrible company because it's def the worst company I've ever dealt with!
Do not trust the good life that they lay out in front of you. As soon as you are on long-term disability, they can and will make your life even more miserable by coercing you to do all their programs and by-policy nonsenses designed to get you out of their coverage. True corporation greed with no respect and compassion. Do not trust them. I have learned it the hard way. Better to save money in the bank than to give them.
I am on short term disability, they treat you like you are nothing they ask to complete a lot of paperworks and then ask for the doctor details... Always by post office!!! Wake up faxes and email exist!!! Weeks and months have passed and still awaiting to be paid. They rejected doctor notes saying to be incomplete. Then they said their specialist rejected the doctor diagnostic... How can you do that without seeying a patients. They just want you to discourage and to let go. Not a chance, when I am going to be better, I am going to bring them to justice and I am going to make sure it goes in the newspaper.
After paying decades of contribution to GWL, I was short term disabled. They requested documents from the doctor, then they needed signed documents from the doctor, then they needed the notes of the doctor. I waited for the payment to be told that I was not more than 60% disabled! On what ground?!
They just don't want to pay...
I have a good doctor and my condition is real. I am going to bring them to justice these thieves and make an example out of them...
I was put on disability by my Dr. Over the course of the first two years, I was made to jump through numerous hoops, have numerous forms filled out by my Dr. (which I had to pay for), had to meet with GWL's third party assessment group (weekly), who push you to return to work, and so forth. I was incredibly ill, couldn't drive and could barely hold an intelligent conversation due to chronic pain reducing my cognitive ability. I found I had to be VERY careful what I said on the phone ... VERY.
Now, finally, all had been well with them (3 years later). I will never be able to return to work. THEN: They encouraged me to apply for CPPD, which I did, and was granted (no issues). I have received a 17 month retroactive backpay from CPPD. GWL says I have to pay this back to them as it is an overpayment and will cover payments made by GWL.
This is INCORRECT in my case. I hold a premium policy which states: if the monthly CPPD payment in combination with the monthly GWL payment does not exceed what my monthly salary would have been, then no deduction will be taken for overpayment.
Therefore, the 17 month retroactive payment is NOT an overpayment and I should not have to pay a penny - when broken out into the 17 months and summed with the monthly payments made by GWL - the monthly amount(s) NEVER exceed what my monthly salary was. So, no overpayment made.
I will seek legal counsel if needed, but the GWL representative is this cold, disconnected, robot like person who has the personality of a rock. I don't feel listened to. And I would advise that all conversation be followed up with an email for tracking purposes!
I had been told, numerous years ago, that insurance companies will say No, No, No, No ... to hopefully get you to just stop asking. Eventually, they will pay, in most cases. But, you have to wait, while you are ill and not working for sometime, in many cases. Which then forces people to go back to work!
So disgusting ... all about THEIR own bottom line .. and never really about You and all the money you paid to be taken care of if something medical should occur in your life. Ugh!
LTD claim has not been processed after 1 month of submission. Very inefficient. No concern