YUFA
Benefits
Change in YUFA Benefits
Carrier to Sun Life
19 Nov 08 – The YUFA Subcommittee on
Benefits was not informed in advance with respect to the change in YUFA
Benefits carrier from Great West Life to Sun Life. It was YUFA's position
that YUFA should have been included in any tendering discussions. It is
the Employer's position that, while they are obliged to include YUFA in
changes to Long Term Disability (LTD) Insurance, they are not obliged to
do so with respect to the other plans. The Benefits insurance plans are
University-wide and in some cases apply to a coalition of Ontario
Universities. Both make it difficult for one union to be involved in any
tendering especially since YUFA does not have language to that effect in
its Collective Agreement.
YUFA has been assured by the Employer
that no benefits will change and in fact they cannot do so since
benefits are negotiated. YUFA did ask the Employer to advise YUFA of any
communications about the change and they failed to do so.
Sun Life has been YUFA's LTD carrier
since 2003 and to YUFA's knowledge we have not experienced significant
changes in practice with new LTD claims during their administration of
the plan.
If members have claims denied which they
feel should have been paid, they should:
·
contact Sun Life for an
explanation, as errors do occur with claims to any insurer,
·
contact Human Resources &
Employee Relations (http://www.yorku.ca/hr/contact.html;
416 736-5005), if the matter is unresolved,
·
contact YUFA for further
advice if required; and if still unresolved,
·
file an appeal with
Sun Life, which does have an internal appeal mechanism.
YUFA Subcommittee on Benefits