Disability Benefits & Management Practices

We are committed to protecting the physical and financial well-being of our Plan Members. Our disability programs support Plan Members through prevention, treatment and successful transition back to work. By offering financial security during their disability, they can focus on what matters most.

Disability Management Practices

Our disability management philosophy recognizes that a disability claim impacts both the Plan Member and Plan Sponsor. We are committed to investing in our disability management practices, ensuring appropriate treatment is received, and the duration of absences and overall disability costs are reduced. Under our proactive approach to disability management, Wawanesa Life strives to support the Plan Member in successfully returning to work as early and safely as possible.

• Early Intervention
  We focus on what the disabled Plan Member can do rather than what they cannot, then seek accommodated duties to facilitate an earlier return to work. This reduces the claims management process and disability duration.
• Proactive Rehabilitation
  Wawanesa Life supports several proactive rehabilitation approaches – such as physiotherapy, counselling, rehabilitation consultants, functional assessments and independent medical exams – to help ease the employee back into the workplace.
• Partial Disability
  For eligible plans, Partial Disability provides protection for a Plan Member who can work at a limited capacity while receiving LTD benefits. The Plan Members will be compensated by their employer for the hours worked and the Partial Disability program subsidizes their income to the amount specified in their plan. When the Plan Members can work part-time, it not only reduces the cost of the overall Disability program resulting in lower premium, it usually results in the Plan Member returning to full-time duties faster.
• Canada Pension Plan Coordination
  Working with Plan Members can result in CPP Coordination which will reduce the costs to the Plan Sponsors.
• Business Assistance Program
  Through Arete Human Resources Inc., we include the Acumin™ Business Assistance Program (BAP) with all our plans. This offering includes a confidential referral program for Plan Members to address concerns such as work-related difficulties, personal problems, marital and family challenges and dependency concerns. There is no cost to the Plan Member and, by using this service, a Plan Sponsor can play an important role in early intervention.