Report Details

CLAIMS ADMINISTRATION: LONG TERM DISABILITY

The Board of Trustees has outsourced its claims administration to Manulife Financial, which provides a high level of quality service to the LTD Plan.

On a quarterly basis, the Claims Administrator's performance is reviewed and measured by a scorecard to ensure adherence to mutually agreed upon standards. The scorecard process allows for validation of all findings and is signed off by both the LTD Plan and the Claims Administrator. The scorecard specifically measures claims service, response time, rehabilitation services, accuracy, quality assurance, and account management.

SCORECARD RESULTS

	The service standard to adjudicate new claims was met 100% of the time
	The service standard to remit applications for CPP disability benefits was met 100% of the time
	The service standard to pre-screen all newly approved claims for rehabilitation services was met 100% of the time
	The service standard to complete a rehabilitation action plan was met 100% of the time
	The service standard to review case management and rehabilitation plans was met 100% of the time
	The service standard to communicate decisions on a timely basis was met 94% of the time
	The service standard to review new evidence for appealed decisions on a timely basis was met 75% of the time

* Based on a randomly reviewed sample
Source: NSPS LTD Plan Trust Fund

While no one factor is totally responsible for the positive claims experience, it is clear that consistent and timely claims administration played a large role in improved outcomes for claimants and improved claims experience for the LTD Plan.

The challenge as we go forward is to continue to offer high quality claims administration services, while also continuing to review and implement emerging alternatives in disability management that benefit both claimants and the LTD Plan.

The following table shows the number of active LTD Claims for the past five years.

YEAR END	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008

# of Claims	692	649	646	602	578

Source: Manulife Financial

Active LTD Claims by employer as at December 31, 2008

LTD Claims activity for 2008 with comparative figures for 2007 shown below.

	2007	2008	% CHANGE

Active Claims as at Jan 1	646	602	-6.8%
Approved Claims	120	98	-18.3%
Claims Resolved	-164	-122	-25.6%
Active Claims as at Dec 31	602	578	-4.0%

Source: Manulife Financial

LTD Claims are resolved for a number of reasons, including return to work, retirement, and death. Detailed below is the breakdown of the resolved Claims.

	2007	2008

Return to Work	56	43
Change of Definition*	9	8
Death	14	15
Retirement/Benefit Expiry	72	45
Other Reason	13	19
TOTAL CLAIMS RESOLVED	164	130

* Disabled from own-occupation, but not any occupation
Source: Manulife Financial

The LTD Plan devotes considerable resources, particularly in rehabilitation, towards achieving a successful return to work (RTW). In 2008, of the 102 cases resolved, 40 successfully returned to work with their own employer.

Below is a table showing the 2008 LTD rehabilitation resolution percentages.

REHABILITATION OUTCOME	2007	2008

RTW - Own Employer	39.1%	39.2%
RTW - Other Employer	1.1%	1.0%
Job Ready	14.1%	12.7%
Assessed, ill-suited candidate	45.7%	47.1%
Retired	0%	0%
	100%	100%

Source: Manulife Financial

The following graph shows the distribution of diagnoses by major category for the total number of LTD Claims as at the 2008 year end. Also shown are corresponding percentages for Manulife's client base.

Source: Manulife Financial