Before I get into my question here, please note I did read the article that Resolute posted on this one already.
I am paranoid about the surveillance aspect. My medical file is very clear what my limitations are though I am certainly concerned about how surveillance may ‘frame’ a claimant in a way that isn’t accurate.
I am primarily concerned about being able to collect LTD for the first 24 months and I don’t want to jeopardize that. That said, my condition quite literally is best handled with me doing light exercise. My occupation is an office job for brevity.
I’m worried about going for a walk. I’m worried about doing light exercises that I used to do many decades ago before getting buried with work. For example: going for a swim, playing some friendly squash or spending an hour at the range. These are all things that would help my condition but could be completely misconstrued by an insurer as ‘being able to work’.
I’m ready to go on house arrest for 2 years and to stay at home with my blinds closed. Am I overthinking this? I’m wondering if I should get my GP to put in his notes what we discussed in regards to light exercise. Would this help?
I say be an open book. Living in fear is a recipe for a mental health disaster, and will result in you getting sicker and sicker. I think some claims adjusters can smell when you are trying to hide something and those are the files they put under the microscope.
If some activities will help you, then make sure your doctor notes these as approved activities in your medical file to hopefully aid in your recovery or just for stabilizing your prognosis.
I have a significant spinal disorder and my doctor has put in my medical file that swimming, weight training, walks, light hikes, amongst other things are part of my treatment. My insurer didn’t blinked an eye at it. In my very limited conversations with them they asked that I try hard to do these doctor recommended activities to prevent future degeneration of my condition. That was over 2 years ago.
Perfect, this is very helpful. My doctor’s notes have been sent to my insurer already. Is the SOP such that I can request him to fax his updated notes over?
He did get one or two things wrong which I want to clarify with him and to ensure my insurer gets a copy as well. I literally want everything to match with reality and the challenges I’m facing, nothing more, nothing less.
My issue is spinal related as well, for brevity. I need to keep my spine moving or one day I won’t be able to walk.
I wish you all the best in your recovery/stabilization as well.
Once you are approved the insurance company will likely contact your doctor for regular updates. My insurer barely contacted me, but in the first two years they reached out to my doctor for updated medical documentation and questionare at least 4 times. The only time I’ve really heard from them is to light a fire under my butt to apply for CPP disability benefits because I was dragging my feet for 8 months.
If you are with Canada Life I’ve heard it’s not uncommon to initially get a call from them once every few weeks to provide them with a verbal update, plus they will be reaching out to your medical team regularly.
Thank you. I’m on the earlier side right now. My employer provides STD but uses the insurer to adjudicate claims after X weeks.
I’m confining myself to house arrest b/c I’m scared they’ll find any reason to deny me. I’m not entirely sure how to best keep the insurer up to date proactively while I’m working with my GP but perhaps that’s a conversation with the lawyer.
I really want to make the best out of STD/LTD to improve my situation which I feel is in the insurer’s best interest but here we are I guess.
I think it is exceptionally important to do what helps with mobility and for mental health. If your dr. is recommending you continue these activities and supportive of your efforts to continue walking, hiking, swimming, etc… then it is paramount to the best well being you can manage.
When I was initially on LTD, prior to two-year CoD, I believed I was under surveillance. It was quite frightening…
At that time, 2019, I was walking, hiking, doing yoga, exercising up to four hours per day, plus cooking for stress relief. (Since then Long-Covid has nearly killed most of my activities )
I asked my case manager if I was under surveillance. The response was, “Of course not, we would never do that…”
Lying may be an option for the insurance company, however, I think it would look really bad in litigation circumstances if the representative was discovered to be untruthful.
I continued my healthy activities until I contracted vaccine induced long Covid. I continue with yoga at the moment, and cooking, when I feel up to the activities. I have to push myself.
The sense that I was under surveillance stopped after I questioned the case manager.
Hmm I would be sure to discuss each activity with your doc especially re squash, my doc nixed tennis and golf because of the explosive movements when I had my back problems.
First priority has to be your health and maintaining mobility as long as you can.
In the early 90s, my mother was on short and then long term disability through Great West Life. They used surveillance on her regularly, up to and including parking a guy outside our house. This included times when she (and my father) were not home, usually because she was off at some mandatory doctor’s appointment they wanted from an “unbiased” physician or physio. At one point, she was hospitalized with her many conditions and the car was still parked outside the house while I (13) was home alone with 2 sisters (11 and 3). Dad called home from work (or the hospital, I can’t remember which) and I told him that they were there even though Mom wasn’t. He said “Hang up and call 911 because you’re home alone babysitting and a strange man is watching the house scaring you.”
6 cop cars came screeching down our street from both directions, blocking the surveillance in and demanding to know why he was surveilling 3 girls at home alone when the target was known to be in hospital. Dude never came back. It was a gloriously empowering day for little teenaged me and Mom had zero problems with her GWL disability benefits after that.
Do what you have to do for your survival (groceries etc) within your stated abilities and what you’re told by your doctor to do. They want to find you doing things that you’re saying you can’t, not preventing you from doing the things you must. If you don’t conform to your doc’s recommendations, they’ll try to use that against you as “refusing to follow medical advice”.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to discuss and for your feedback & guidance.
I had a discussion with my insurer and I went into very specific detail with what I can and cannot do and the frequency associated with each when they asked. I bent over backwards to share with them ‘the truth’ and that was based on this thread.
The exercises I wanted to do also have been approved by my GP so now I feel better. I still feel paranoid though around my home.
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