Sun Life Disability Insurance Reviews

After dealing with a serious cardiac issue, and returning to work before the end of my Short-term benefits, I have since been hospitalized TWICE for the same condition. Now that I will be looking to use LTD for a short time until I'm able to return to work, Sun Life delayed and stalled for a month after being sent all the information from my Dr as requested. After a month of delays and no income, my "rep" decided to pass my file to their "Health Partner" (AKA: A Doctor they pay to deny claims) for review. This so-called "partner" OVERRULED my Doctor and Cardiologists findings and have denied my coverage. I am not well enough to return to work yet, as my Dr indicated, and now over 2 months later, I am still in the "appeals" process. No income, for 3 months, maxed out CC's, used all my savings to survive...And still no resolution. This is a very common game they play... Stall and delay and bully you until you're unable to remain off work any longer due to financial pressures, regardless of your health. I have 8 co-workers who have had to retain a lawyer in order to receive BENEFITS THAT YOU PAY FOR. How this company hasn't been sued out of existence is beyond me. They are immoral and unsympathetic, and their "customer service" is absolutely appalling. ZERO STARS

I only have Sun Life because of the company I work for. I had surgery and I submitted ALL necessary COMPLETED paperwork back in Feb. I had surgery in March and it is now April and I STILL have not received my disability. Sun Life claim to have needed info from me that they already had in file. They told me it would take 5 days to have my claim assigned. I called 4 days later and my claim still had not been assigned! They're saying they dropped the ball and it will take another 5 days to be assigned and additional time to have my claim approved so I can finally receive my benefits. By the time I receive my benefits, I will be back at work. I can not begin to explain how disappointed and disgusted I am with this company. My disability is my only form of income while I'm out of work and they're basically telling me there is nothing I can do about it even though they dropped the ball! This is absurd and Sun Life should be investigated! I'm committed to exploring every outside option I can to have them take responsibility for their actions. If an individual pay monthly for your insurance, you should at least have the decency to pay out in a timely efficient manner! Shame on you Sun Life!

When you call you're asked for a bunch of numbers you probably don't have. Employees act frustrated to have to look you up by name etc. Finding your info online is impossible and when you call they have difficulty telling you what kind of coverage you even have. I was transferred 3 times to be told they didn't know if I had any disability coverage on the group insurance option I selected. You might say I should know this but employers often ask you to complete your selections within a week of starting your new job. A brochure or at least clear coverage information should be available to you to review at any time. I'm disappointed in this company and think they should be more user-friendly.

Sun Life will raise any excuse to deny valid LTD claims. I am currently being treated for depression, anxiety and job burnout by my GP and therapist. Both have given the medical diagnosis to Sun Life and extensive information and forms. Doesn't matter, drag out the claim process, say not enough information, then deny the claim. I am a hardworking professional (accountant) who has a strong work ethic (see burnout above). The fact that my employer has paid into this company for 10+ years on my behalf, only to then be denied upon valid medical leave and financial need is unconscionable. This industry needs to examine its' reasons for doing business. These guys are a bunch of crooks and the press should really get a hold of this story.

Wow! Somehow these crooks are legally operating here in Canada. My little sister was severely damaged in a car accident... Been off work for a year and a half... She had asked to see a concussion specialist... For her concussion... But was DENIED the help she needed... Was then referred to a specialist through Sun Life... Who then wrote lies on her medical charts which then forced her back to work.... Where she sat in a dark corner hiding from the harsh lights and sounds... Finally was sent home and then this company... Whom she's paid in thousands for years... Cuts her benefits, so she's now unable to have a Christmas, care for her baby... It's sick! This company is criminal

I want to start by saying... How is my car dealership, my car insurance company & my local garage, all together, are offering me better customer service & show me much more value than my own life insurance service??? I strongly believe that my own life costs more than my car but now I am questioning myself... Can my car be more valuable than me? I am getting such a poor experience with Sun Life that I am starting to believe that my life must not mean a thing to them! The way I get passive-aggressive responses from them just to get a confirmation of my file or ask when will I get my payment, builds up more stress than speaking to an automatic message for a phone service... like... where did we go wrong? They talk to you like you don't matter to them... not one bit. They encourage financial stress & anxiety by not responding on time or delaying your pay as if your life does not depend on it. They keep saying they will respond back to you within 24 to 48hrs but you only get an answer 1month later & that's simply because you attempted at least 4 times to reach out to them over and over again! Where is the willingness to help, the empathy, loyalty & human care? Does it exist in the Sun Life values or culture? 1year ago my life flipped on me in one fraction of second... I woke up paraplegic when 12hrs prior to that I was one of the most active healthiest people on earth. You would think Sun Life would have sympathy for someone like me and would try to make things easier & smooth things out for us but during my 1year convalescence, they were the cause of the most stressful moments of my recovery. Can someone please figure this out for me? How is your life insurance that is supposed to help you throughout the most difficult moment of your life be the one making it so hard for you to get through? I guess I'll let Sun Life give me an answer on that one.

I was out on STD from June 3rd to August 14th. I fought with them the entire month of June and beginning of July before I even saw a payment. It was days and weeks of being told "so and so" will call you back within 24 hours. I finally get back to work and then I send them the return to work letter, 4 days PRIOR to when I was returning to work and they still submitted payment for that week I returned to work. Now they say I owe them repayment. I said that was due to their error not mine and now she says she will continue to move forward to collections. I am disgusted with this company's lack of customer service, lack of urgency, lack of care, lack of compassion and lack of ability to get anything done properly. Do not use this company if you can afford it at all.

From personal experience, and after reading all of the comments on here and other sites, I have to agree , that Sun Life is a very unprofessional company, to say the least. I have no idea how the employees of this company can live with themselves, when they are affecting people's lives so negatively. So many people who make disability claims have to fight to get it, to prove that they are unwell (even with a ton of medical documentation and support), which does not help them to get better, in any way. This company will drag out your claim, and jerk you around, until you get a lawyer involved. They are essentially bullies. They will take all the time in the world to respond to you (if they even do, at all), yet expect you to get your paperwork in, in a very short time frame. Don't waste your time, going back and forth with them, on your own. If you are declined, and have a legitimate case, get a lawyer, and stand up to them. No matter how dire one's financial situation is, a good lawyer will not take anything up front, so it is well worth getting one. From all the comments I have heard&read, it would be interesting to see if a class action lawsuit would be done...see people band together and show this company that they can't keep getting away with their shady practises. Not only do they decline people, and negatively impact their lives/finances and health, but they keep getting away with it, because they know they can. More people need to stand up for their rights.

Stay as far, far away from this scam insurance company as you can..
DO NOT BELIEVE any of the other positive posts anywhere about this company, they are all fake and probably padded by the workers themselves.

They take your money and provide you with NOTHING! not even a call back and totally ignore you if you file a claim, contracts mean nothing to these crooks, to this date I have 4 so called "senior caseworkers" on my case over 3 months and NONE of them answer their phones nor return calls, EVER!

They constantly want more information from your doctor, then challenge your doctor's prescriptions, challenge your surgeon's surgery results, challenge your physiotherapist results, even challenge your cardiologist findings, everything and anything just to delay then deny your claim, these people are scum and treat you without respect like dirt, they are pre programed to NOT pay out your claim.

DON'T BUY THEIR WORTHLESS POLICIES!..
You WILL be so sorry later if you do.

If you are looking for short term disability coverage, do yourself a favour and look elsewhere. I have submitted medical evidence from my family doctor, my OB as well as my physiotherapist all stating that I cannot work let alone sit/stand for any longer than 10 minutes. Doctors notes, Supplemental forms and chart notes from each and this is STILL not good enough. They take weeks upon weeks just to look at your file, then they request more evidence, then deny you. Customer service is beyond terrible IF you can even get through to your case worker. The only reason I rated them a 1 is because I cant select zero.