Question
Does SunLife have a required time to make a decision? Can they request medical records that have nothing to do with my illness?
I applied to Sun life for LTD for anxiety, panic and depression, this was back in September 2018. To this date, I have not received an approval or denial. They keep on asking for more medical records that don’t have any cause to my current medical status. The dates they are requiring are years before my anxiety, panic and depression started. My question is do the have a required time to make a decision, and can they request medical records that have nothing to do with the illness now.
Answer
Megan, in an ERISA governed claim Sun Life would have 45 days to make a decision and have the option of taking two 30-day extensions if they need more time. However, the law often allows the carrier to toll the timeframe if they are waiting on information necessary to properly review the claim. They may be asking for old medical records if you have not been covered under the policy for very long which may trigger a pre-existing condition review.
