Canada's life and health insurers are introducing a harmonized disability medical form aimed at speeding up access to benefits and reducing paperworks for physicians.
The move replaces multiple company-specific forms with a single document that can be used to initiate both short- and long-term disability claims.
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA), which represents insurers covering 27 million Canadians, said the change will help relieve pressure on doctors while ensuring employees who need time away from work for medical reasons can receive benefits more quickly.
Stephen Frank, CLHIA’s president and CEO, noted that the healthcare system is already under strain, making it essential to cut unnecessary red tape. He said insurers are committed to collaborating with governments and medical partners on broader healthcare solutions, with the new form representing a concrete step in that direction.
Years in the making
The initiative has been years in the making. More than five years of joint work between insurers, governments and medical associations reduced the number of disability forms from several to four. The new announcement consolidates those further into a single standardized form.
Insurers are accepting the new form immediately, although the CLHIA acknowledged that some companies and plan sponsors may take up to a year to transition fully across websites and systems.
From an insurance perspective, a standardized approach is expected to cut administrative costs while creating more consistency in claims processing. For employers, it could reduce delays in managing workplace absences and ensure employees receive income support with fewer disruptions. For claimants, it may mean faster access to benefits and less back-and-forth between doctors, insurers and HR departments.
Joan Weir, CLHIA’s vice president of group benefits, said the association is encouraging all employers offering workplace benefits to adopt the new form. She added that broad uptake is key to reducing administrative burden across the healthcare system.
This work builds on previous initiatives by insurers to simplify benefits access, such as eliminating the need for physician referrals for services like physiotherapy and chiropractic care. Industry observers note that these efforts not only support the healthcare system but also help insurers improve efficiency and strengthen their competitiveness in the group benefits market.
By streamlining disability claims, the sector aims to ease the workload for physicians, reduce costs for insurers and employers, and ultimately provide employees with a smoother path to receiving benefits during periods of medical leave.
