Disability insurance

Short- and Long-Term Disability helps protect your employees’ paychecks when they can’t work due to a covered disability. 

Contact a representative

Disability insurance that supports return to work

Sun Life’s disability is more than income protection. It supports faster, sustainable return to work through clinical-led return-to-work planning, vocational services, accommodations, and wellness programs.

Employers and employees benefit from:

Return-to-work, vocational rehabilitation, 
accommodations, and behavioral health clinical resources

Clinical interventions that help employees get back to wellness and work

Integrated claims with supplemental health and absence which helps lower administration burden

Online claim submissions and tracking for easy claim management

Seamless transition from Short- to Long-Term Disability claims which helps reduce gaps in benefit payments

Flexible plan designs

Plan Basics Short-Term Disability Long-Term Disability

Payment options

Employer-paid, contributory, or
voluntary

Employer-paid, contributory,
voluntary 

Income protections

Up to 66% income replacement, flexible durations

Up to 66% income replacement, flexible durations

Benefits and support
  • Clinical support
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Return-to-work benefits
  • Service guarantees
  • Whole-person care program for neck and back pain1
  • Clinical support
  • Employee Assistance Program
  • Retro Disability Benefits® for disabilities 
    beginning with in-hospital care    2
  • Return-to-work benefits
  • Service guarantees
  • Waiver of Premium

Supporting a healthier return to work

Our disability benefits connect employees to programs and services that can improve health outcomes and reduce time away from work. 

We use best practices, specialty resources and collaborative planning to support timely vocational and clinical intervention when your employees go on disability leave. We do this by:

  • Focusing on the employee’s abilities rather than their limitations
  • Bringing together clinical, vocational and physician expertise
  • Understanding employee and employer needs early in the claim
  • Providing specialized support for employees with behavioral health conditions

Learn how it helps employees return to work

Through Sun Life Health Navigator, we help employees navigate the complicated healthcare system, so they can feel confident in their diagnosis and get access to the right care for their needs—leading to a better experience and improved health outcomes.

Learn more about Sun Life Health Navigator

When you have both Stop-Loss and Disability policies with us, we will remind eligible employees needing time away from work due to cancer that they have access to Expert Cancer Review which provides a second opinion from independent oncology specialists.

Learn more about Expert Cancer

Eligible employees receiving disability benefits due to neck or back pain have access to Goodpath whole-person care and coaching1 which provides a customized digital care plan, dedicated health coach, and monthly delivery of care items.

Learn how Goodpath supports members

EAP helps address mental health and personal life challenges. Services are provided through ComPsych Corporation.

Learn how EAP supports eligible members

We make employee education and enrollment easy with Benefits Explorer, our streamlined digital experience customized to your employee population. Set-up is a snap and implemented by our experts. Live benefits counselors can provide support to complement the intuitive, easy-to-understand and engaging online experience. You can also use your own HCM/benefits platforms.

Real life stories

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Valerie and Bryan's story

With two children in the hospital for two completely different reasons, the Foriest family needed help to support the rest of their large family with meals, gas and transportation. See how our hospital indemnity insurance helped this special family during the hardest time in their lives.

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Joyce's story

After her young daughter had an accident resulting in a complicated eye injury, Joyce connected with Sun Life Health Navigator for support with what to do next. Learn how our dedicated team of clinical experts helped Joyce get her daughter the best care for her situation.

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Eddie's story

Eddie's wife Joan was a teacher with a strong connection to her students and her school. When life took an unexpected turn, Sun Life helped Joan's family with a seamless transition from short-term to long-term disability benefits, and also helped Eddie honor his wife with a lasting gift to her community.

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Cristie's story

As a registered nurse with the New York State Department of Correctional Institution, Cristie was constantly on her feet. She developed tarsal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis which left her unable to work for eight months. See how Sun Life helped Cristie find fulfillment with a new job in the nursing field.

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William's story

William was dealing with a lot, and his dental care was not a priority. See how one of our case managers at DentaQuest, a Sun Life company, got him through a tough time in life, to emerge healthier, mentally stronger and with a new friend who helped him smile again.

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Julie's story

Julie was an ER physician and a dedicated sports racer, biker and more. After suffering a hip injury, she didn't expect the recovery process to be so long. Not only did Sun Life provide financial protection, our vocational rehabilitation counselors helped Julie find a new job, in a new state.

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MaineGeneral Health's story

MaineGeneral Health, a Client that employs over 4,500 professionals recently implemented Sun Life's Absence Management solution with APIs that connect to their Workday platform. This powerful combination transformed their workflow, saving time and reducing manual effort.

Resources

Mental wellness at work

Visit our resource hub to learn how employers can foster a mental wellness strategy in the workplace, including  stay-at-work and return-to-work support for employees managing mental health.

The content on this page is not approved for use in New Mexico.

1. Goodpath whole-person care and coaching program is available to eligible members receiving Short-Term Disability benefits due to MSK neck or neck pain (employer must also have Sun Life LTD), or receiving Long-Term Disability benefits due to Long COVID symptoms. Sun Life is not responsible or liable for the care, services, or advice provided by Goodpath, and reserves the right to discontinue this service at anytime. 

2. When covered disabilities begin with immediate, acute, in-hospital care lasting 14 days or more (7 days or more in NY), Sun Life retroactively pays a benefit for the length of the Elimination Period.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) services are not insurance, are offered only on specific lines of coverage, and carry a separate charge, which is added to the cost of the insurance. The cost is included in the total amount billed. EAP work/life services are provided by ComPsych®. ComPsych® is a registered trademark of ComPsych Corporation. ComPsych is not a subcontractor of Sun Life and Sun Life is not responsible or liable for the care, services, or advice provided by it. Sun Life reserves the right to discontinue these Services at any time. Employers who provide group insurance coverage and make available this Service within an I.R.C. Section 125 cafeteria plan should consult a tax professional to determine whether those services are Qualified Benefits for Section 125 plans. In California, employees are eligible for 3 sessions in a 6-month period.

In New York, EAP services are provided with Short-Term and Long-Term Disability insurance. The Program and the services provided under it will end upon the earliest of the following: (a) the date the Policy terminates; (b) the date the Policyholder terminates the Rider; and (c) the date the service provider ceases to provide services under the Program and we are not able to find a suitable replacement for the provider. We reserve the right to change the provider of the services under the Program.

PinnacleCare is a member of the Sun Life Financial Inc. (“Sun Life”) family of companies. PinnacleCare and its employees do not diagnose medical conditions, recommend treatment options or provide medical care, and any information or services provided should not be considered medical advice. Any medical decisions should be made only after consultation with and at the direction of the medical provider. Any person or entity who provides health care services following a referral or other service provided does so independently and not as an agent or representative of PinnacleCare.

Group insurance policies are underwritten by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, MA) in all states, except New York, under Policy Form Series 93P-LH, 15-GP-01, 12-DI-C-01, 12-GPPort-P-01, 12-STDPort-C-01, 16-DI-C-01, TDBPOLICY-2006, and TDI-POLICY. In New York, group insurance policies are underwritten by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, MI) under Policy Form Series 15-GP-01, 13-GP-LH-01, 13-LTD-C-01, 13-STD-C-01, 06P-NY-DBL, 12-GPPort-01, and 12-STDPort-C-01. Product offerings may not be available in all states and may vary depending on state laws and regulations. The group insurance policies described in this advertisement provide disability income insurance only. They do NOT provide basic hospital, basic medical, or major medical insurance as defined by the New York State Department of Financial Services.

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