Manulife Disability Insurance Reviews

I've been on STD since February through my employer. Manulife consistently makes me jump through hoops in order to pay me, constantly requesting additional paperwork from all of my health care providers. My case manager is incredibly unreliable, never answers my emails, and never contacts me when they say they will. I've had to phone them numerous times to be updated with information, meanwhile, I'm behind on Bill's, have absolutely no food, and can't refill my medication. Mental health leave of absence is supposed to allow someone time to heal with adequate assistance for their wellbeing. This has been the total opposite in that being on leave is more stressful than working would've been.

Manulife tried to make decision on behalf of my doctor. They denied much needed medication that doctor prescribed and tried to push completely different medication on me. Few different reps try to deny it when I called them on it. Have to quote their rejection letter back to them for them to stop saying it is not true. Also Nobody gave me answer to my question what kind of responsibility Manulife willing to take if I started on wrong medication or have no medication at all. However after I keep asking that question I got my case reviewed and right medication has being approved.
If anybody wonders this was special medication that needed special authorisation form (two for Manulife). Medical text book from 1970 said that people with my disability would not live longer than 5 years. Now statistics show people live 20 to 30 years after they being diagnosed and having treatment.
Also medication that Manulife pushed me to take was costing them $24,000 a month and the one my doctor prescribed $3,000. Cannot find logic in their decision.

I would never recommend Manulife!

1. They throw many obstacles in the way of submitting claims.

Chiropractic and physiotherapy were included in my group benefits. The website said my group claims can be submitted directly once I verify my account. I followed all the steps and it still took more than 15 times and 7 months to be able to process direct claims. I needed to send a screenshot to a Manulife representative to prove I had verified my account and each clinic had to call Manulife multiple times to argue on my behalf.

When I went to the dentist and the front desk verified what was covered by my group benefits before I had dental work done. Manulife rejected the claim from the dentist’s office. I had to suddenly pay over $800 on the spot and then submit online at home and wait a month. The receptionist at the dentist’s office had never seen a claim rejected before, except by Manulife.

I can’t think of any reason why these normal claims have so many barriers! Maybe they’re hoping people won’t jump through all the hoops and it’ll save the company money?

2. When I switched to the individual plan I expected to pay more. That’s normal.

What I did not expect was for common prescription medications not being covered at all. Now I need to pay $300 more every month for meds that would be covered by every other insurance company.

There are many more issues I could talk about, including my Long Term Disability Claim, purposefully confusing and misdirecting letters from the company and more. But, I’ll stop here.

You get the point.

Never pick Manulife for your insurance!

Worst insurance company ever! People don't sign up with them or you will go through the worst service and they will literally steal your money from your bank without your consent! I've signed paperwork of my cancellation with them on June 12th which has been supposedly sent for processing the same day as what their agent has said, and it would take 8 to 10 business days for it to fully go through. They have deducted money out of my bank July 4th without my consent after I have cancelled with them! When I phoned them they tell me I sent in the paperwork of my cancellation on June 30th which isn't true. I showed them the emails of the paperwork sent June 12th with their agent through email and he said he sent in the form the same day on the 12th. They are liars and point fingers at you for being at fault when they have a lack of communication and liars within their company! A different representative I spoke with about this issue to send me back my money in my bank as soon as possible as i didn't expect it withdrawn and it had caused me issues with my budget. I'm on a tight budget as I am off work due to illness and going to surgery within the 10 days. She wouldn't help or get me a supervisor but instead she gives me the worst treatment and hangs up the phone on me! Ive escalated the problem to their head office on July 10th and it's currently July 12th and still haven't received my money or heard back from them. They are thief's, liars, and thugs! Don't sign up with them or you will go through lots of problems no body needs to go through.

Boy oh boy where do I start?! Manulife is SADLY the insurance company my employer goes through, and let me tell you, I would rather suffer than to ever go through anything with these people!
I haven't been very fortunate with my health these past few years, so Ive had to go on 2 short term leaves due to my illness. Again, SADLY I had to go through Manulife in order to basically get paid for the time Im seeking medical treatments. Both times they denied my claim when they had every single proof & medical documentation from specialists explaining my symptoms in detail, the cause of it and the length of time needed to recover. Both times they asked me to sign a form that gives them full authority to gather any medical information needed from my doctor, yet they never contacted them. When asked why, they said "we can, but any medical documents they provide to us, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COST". After providing everything they asked for, the "case manager" who claims to have a medical background, decides whether you are actually ILL ENOUGH to be supported through their garbage insurance, or unsupported. Basically at this point they think they are medical professionals, and make the decision based on "evidence" and "proof". So all the money you spend getting these documents for them, all the unbearable pain you are going through with your illness, cost of medication, different doctors & specialists you see, doesn't even matter... because at the end of the day, these case managers will make a decision based on what THEY really think your illness is, not what the doctor says or what sort of treatments you are seeking. The worst part is, they pretend like they REALLY care about the individual by following up regularly which almost feels like harassment. I mean how many times during the week do you have to call or email and say "Just contacting you to follow up and see how you're doing" .. oh please.. you just want this to be over with and send me back to work when you know fully how ill I am. These people have absolutely no compassion, no empathy, no consideration for your well being. If you have the privilege of NOT dealing with this company, please find another place to deal with. They have caused nothing but anxiety & stress for myself and other co workers who had the misfortune of dealing with them. I am now off of work, unsupported, which means ABSOLUTELY no pay until I am fully back to work, (yet they still call/email weekly to follow up and see "how i'm doing" and when i'm going back to work) financially in a hole, and mentally exhausted. Its only a matter of time before more people speak up about this. Something needs to be done!

I was the victom of a brutal assault. I was beat so bad the surgeons at the hospital told me I would have died with in 5 hours if I hadn't been admitted when I did.
Spent weeks in the hospital recovering and 6-8 months at home recovering from head trauma, lacerated liver, chipped teeth, ligament & mucle damage to my jaw and hands.
Dr's told me the damaged I recieved to my body from being physically assaulted was equal to a pedestrian being hit by a car.
Trauma clinic was concerned I may have received a brain injury of some kind, stated that in my medical files and warned me to pay close attention to anything out of the ordinary.
While recovering at home I started showing symptoms of a concussion. My family Dr. diagnosed and treated me with such.
After my Dr's treatment wasn't helping the issues I am having with my brain, he referred me to a Brain Injury Rehabilitation Clinic.
I was excepted after they reviewed my medical files and qualified. I am now waiting to start treatment.
Manulife is the insurance company I've paid into for over 6 years through my work. They are suppose to be helping me with long term medical disability until I am fully healed. They have denied my claim numerous times based off of there being no medical evidence that I am injured because they can't physical see the damage done to my brain.
A hospital Emergency Trauma Clinic, family Dr. and a Brain Injury Rehibilitatio Clinic have all agreed that they feel I have some sort of brain trauma and need to be treated for such. Manulife experts feel otherwise based off of....their words no evidence.
Manulife has stuck to this theory even after my Dr. has explained to them that brain injuries seldom show up on scans and a lot of the time are based off of symptoms over time. Just like mine.
My Dr will not let me work until we figure out what is wrong with me.
My work won't let me back until my Dr. clears me.
I've lost my home, all my savings, fallen in debt and now somehow have to move my family across country as per the police so the man that went to jail for beating me can't find me and kill me now that he's out after 6 months.
Manulife has gone above my Dr's word, run us in circles, miss filed info, lied about what was said on phone calls, switched reps over and over again ect. the list goes on and on.
The deserve every lawsuit, hate mail and bad review they get.
I feel for anyone having to deal with these money grubbing low life thieves.
Take care everyone.

In 2010 I had to leave work due to serious health issues. Manulife provides the group health insurance provided by my employer. The application was correct and accurate. I received benefits for the first 4 years, after which a return to work is deemed unsuitable and they are obliged to provide benefits until the claimant is 65. They required testing at this 4 year mark by their own selected health expert and his report *supported* my claim. Despite this, I received a letter saying my benefits were being terminated as I was (miraculously) fit to return immediately to full time employment at my former job. There was no medical evidence to support this decision, quite the opposite. Further, the policy included a clause that claimants do not have to take employment that pays less than 75% of their former salary; all medical reports indicated that the type of work I could now perform without risk of triggering another episode of serious illness did not pay anywhere near 75% of my former (management) salary. The Manulife employee assigned to my file refused to acknowledge the existence of this clause in the policy. Another Manulife employee involved in the file was caught out saying one thing to me and another thing to my medical care provider in an effort to use semantics to cheat me out of my benefits. In short, he lied through his teeth. It was shocking. I had to hire a lawyer to fight their decision to cancel as it was clear anything I pointed out in my defence was being ignored. The lawyer indicated the run-around she was getting from them as she prepared the file was just short of bad faith bargaining. In the end, the unjustified cancellation was reversed - but not before I had to pay over $5,000 I couldn't afford to the lawyer (who basically made the same arguments I had) and had gone through months of intense stress that in and of itself made me more ill. If I had been unable to afford a lawyer, I would have lost my benefits, plain and simple. The truth played no part in it. I have read that disability insurers routinely cancel valid claimants as some of them will not know how to or have the stamina to fight back, and for those who do, it's much cheaper for the insurance provider to deal with an internal review of the termination decision or a court case than pay out substantial benefits to someone in their 30s or 40s 'til age 65. So is Manulife worse than other disability providers? I don't know. I wouldn't trust any of them after my experience.

Been diagnosed with 2 serious illnesses and have been declined twice for short term disability. After first decline was told by case worker I would be approved when I appealed. This did not happen. They told me if I was sick for a year I could keep working. When I said you are telling me to go against my Dr.s wishes and they said oh no were are not. We are just telling you we won't support your claim. They said just keep working , it does not matter if you get worse. Case worker is in Toronto. Scam artists. Disgusting way to treat people that pay for benefits. Have spoken to other people who have had serious illnesses and they were ordered back to work too.