Do LTD providers ever ask for your travel history? Is that common? Does it happen in every case? Does it only happen when there is surveillance?
I’ve never been asked.
I’ve never been asked.
I assume they suspect something.
Have you recently travelled and posted something on social media? I would suspect if you recently travelled and they are asking a travel question they probably already know you have travelled so don’t get caught up in a lie. If you haven’t travelled and they are asking about travel then it’s just a question to see how your functionality is. I have never travelled out of country since being approved for LTD, but if I did and suddenly they are asking travel questions I would definitely suspect something is up. Maybe others can share their input if they have NEVER done any travel and they were randomly asked about travel to see if this can be a random question.
1 Like
Good post.
No. My husband bought me a trip for my birthday but I am afraid to contact the insurance company because who wants to ever bring themselves to the insurance company’s attention if they don’t have to. I am afraid NOT to contact them in case they find out.
In the end I just told him to cancel it.
It’s the thought that counts right?
1 Like
Firstly, why would your insurance company find out unless you post about it on social media or you are under surveillance? Secondly, your booklet should state whether you can travel or not, and if you are allowed to travel, it should state for how long you can do so without informing the insurance company. So as long as you are not breaking any rules, you should be fine even if they found out (just don’t post about it on social media). Even though my booklet states that I can travel for up to 3 months without informing my insurance company, I actually contacted my case manager to make sure. I asked if it were ok for me to travel for about a week so that I could recuperate in a quiet environment and/or for a medical appointment across the border. My case manager confirmed there was no issue with me traveling for up to 3 months. I ended up traveling for a few days for a medical test in the US and even sent my insurance company the results. Just because I traveled, it doesn’t mean I am doing well. My husband drove me while I was sleeping in the car. The fact that I had “traveled” had no impact on my benefits. If I were you, I would check your policy to see if travel is allowed, and if it is allowed, I would enjoy the bday trip.
2 Likes
Thank you.
The policy says i have to inform the insurance company if i leave the country for any period of time. Once you pass the any occ decision you can travel out of the country for a max of 1 month per year. There is nothing I could find about how long you can go before the any occ decision.
I just don’t want to get the insurance company’s attention for any reason. Never pays to be the squeaky wheel with insurance.
And I don’t do ANY social media.
1 Like
I totally understand your concern. Your insurance company seems stricter than mine in regards to travel. If your policy says you have to inform them if you leave the country, but you don’t want their attention, I guess it comes down to whether you feel comfortable going without telling them which is being untruthful and breaking their rules. So yeah, in that case, I wouldn’t feel comfortable going on a trip either. It would be interesting to see if any one HAS been asked for their travel records.
1 Like
It’s quite the dilemma.
Maybe go on vacation within Canada. 
I’d recommend BC but not with the fires.
1 Like
I was once asked if I ever left my province of residence. I told them no. My policy states I cannot leave the country.
What’s your LTD insurance provider ?
Why do you ask about the provider?
Each LTD plan is different. Smaller employers have no choices for plans - they take it or leave it and the insurance provider is really an insurer who takes the risk and incurs all the claim costs. If you belong to a large group, the plan sponsor (employer, union, affinity group) picks the benefits and coverage and even the restrictions about travel, unless their choices discriminate against human rights laws.
The restrictions on travel or notifying about travel are sometimes included in the employee booklet, but should be found in the LTD contract.
You may wonder why there is a restriction on travel. I think it is partially because the LTD provider wants to be sure the LTD claimant is receiving appropriate care and participating actively in rehabilitation and can monitor the claim.
The other reason for travel restrictions and/or advance approval in some cases, is the cost to the employer or sponsor for out of province/country medical claims. Many members with group health/dental/out of province/country travel coverage belong to Non Profit and/or Administrative Service Only, arrangements for health/travel coverage. This applies to most large groups and includes public and private plan sponsors. A plan sponsor may want to restrict travel via their LTD plan because the sponsor/employer pays the full cost of the claims directly or via a multi-employer trust, and people on LTD are a high risk for claims.
Sunrise, your point about avoiding posting about vacations and travel is a good one. Yes, be up front with LTD provider as you did.
If you don’t post on social media, how does the LTD provider find out? One of the sources of this information is other people tell them (colleagues, friends, neighbours, family members, ex-spouses, etc.). They contact the plan sponsor/employer or possibly the LTD provider and complain the person on LTD is off travelling or on vacation - screwing the system. This may or may not be true. Travel might be completely legitimate and allowed under the plan, but it doesn’t stop others from reporting people on claim. Oddly, sometimes people report on”claimants” who are not actually on claim!
I notified the LTD provider each time I travelled out of the country to visit relatives. A total of five times, to date (since 2019]. Likely would have been more without pandemic shutdown.
Each time a simple email with my identification / LTD plan numbers and a statement similar to:
“This email is to inform you that I am leaving the country on date, returning on date, barring any travel delays.
Thank you.”