Disability Leave

(Canada Life)

What is Disability Leave?

Disability insurance works when you can’t. It can give you tax-free monthly income to help pay expenses if an illness or accident stops you from working. While a disability can often be visible to the naked eye, not all disabilities are so easily recognized. Chronic pain or a mental health issue can also qualify as a disability.

If you have an eligible employee agreement with MESC you may be eligible to apply for short term disability. All application are reviewed and processed by Canada Life. If approved, you will receive 66.7% of your salary with a maximum benefit period of up to 17 weeks.

How to Make a Claim

To start a claim, please reach out to the Health and Wellness Team here at MESC to assist you with this process.

To submit claims online, go to www.canadalife.com. To submit paper claims, obtain an Employee Claim Submission Guide (form M5454) and follow the guide’s instructions. Or the health and wellness team can upload it directly to Canada Life for you.

You can get this form from your employer, or online from the Canada Life corporate website. To access the form online, go to www.canadalife.com. To permit prompt assessment of your claims, please ensure that your claim is submitted to Canada Life within 10 days after the onset of your disability. Canada Life will not be liable for claims submitted more than 3 months after the end of your waiting period or the date your employer’s plan ends, whichever is earlier.

Short Term Disability

SHORT TERM DISABILITY (STD) INCOME BENEFITS

The plan provides you with regular income to replace income lost because of a disability due to disease or injury. Benefits begin after the waiting period is over and continue until you are no longer disabled or until the end of the benefit period, whichever comes first. Check the Benefit Summary for the benefit amount, waiting period and benefit period. STD benefits are payable after the waiting period if disease or injury prevents you from doing your own job. You are not considered disabled if you can perform a combination of duties that regularly took at least 60% of your time to complete. If you have not seen a physician before the end of the waiting period, benefits will not be payable until after your first visit to the physician.

Separate periods of disability arising from the same disease or injury are considered to be one period of disability unless they are separated by at least 2 weeks of continuous work at the same number of hours per week as you regularly worked before the disability started. Because you pay the entire cost of STD coverage, benefits are not taxable.

Long Term Disability

(LTD)

The plan provides you with regular income to replace income lost because of a lengthy disability due to disease or injury. Benefits begin after the waiting period is over and continue until you are no longer disabled as defined by the policy or you reach age 65, whichever comes first. Check the Benefit Summary for the benefit amount and waiting period. Long term disability income is taxable. If disability is not continuous, the days you are disabled can be accumulated to satisfy the waiting period as long as no interruption is longer than 2 weeks and the disabilities arise from the same disease or injury. LTD benefits are payable for the first 24 months following the waiting period if disease or injury prevents you from performing the essential duties of your regular occupation, and, except for any employment under an approved rehabilitation plan, you are not employed in any occupation that is providing you with income equal to or greater than your amount of LTD insurance under this plan, as shown in the Benefit Summary. After 24 months, LTD benefits will continue only if your disability prevents you from being gainfully employed in any job. Gainful employment is work you are medically able to perform, for which you have at least the minimum qualifications, and which provides you with an income of at least 50% of your indexed monthly earnings before you became disabled. Loss of any license required for work will not be considered in assessing disability. After the waiting period, separate periods of disability arising from the same disease or injury are considered to be one period of disability unless they are separated by at least 6 months. Because you pay the entire cost of LTD coverage, benefits are not taxable.

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