Starting in fall 2025, Desjardins Insurance will offer its group insurance clients an optional benefit designed to help an injured or ill employee stay at work. The future benefit will be called the Stay at work program, revealed Chantal Gagné, Senior Vice-President, Life and Health Insurance at Desjardins Insurance, in an interview with the Insurance Portal.
Gagné explains that the program will offer employers personalized advice and expertise that will enable them to adapt an employee's schedule or tools so that he or she can remain at work. “The program can be used in situations where the employee suffers from musculoskeletal disorders, chronic illnesses or mental health problems,” she says.
On the physical side, Gagné mentioned that the program could help someone with multiple sclerosis, cancer or “certain forms of diabetes that can interfere with the performance of daily tasks.”
Prevention
Desjardins Insurance hopes that its new program will help reduce the cost of disability insurance in plans. “We're big believers in prevention: it's a win-win situation," says Gagné, referring to the links between insurer, employer and employee. Prevention reduces the length of potential disability. The objective of the Stay at work program is to reduce the frequency and duration of disability.
As is the case with other insurers, Desjardins Insurance already offered prevention services. However, this will be the first time that Desjardins has offered “such a structured program as an option to employers when choosing their group insurance,” Gagné explains. Employers will pay a cost for the new program, as they would for any other benefit under their plan.
The new program is designed to intervene on a case-by-case basis “with individuals who have a particular condition”, says Gagné. She explains that the objective is to help the employer maximize the employee's presence and productivity.
Many requests from employers
It's easier to return to full-time work after a reduced workload than after a complete stoppage - Chantal Gagné
Gagné said that Desjardins Insurance has received several requests in the past year from employers who need such advice. “It's a good time to launch the program,” she says.
One of the pieces of advice the new program will provide is to reduce the employee's workload until his or her health improves. “It's easier to return to full-time work after a reduced workload than after a complete stoppage lasting several months,” she maintains. She observes that employers are also looking for ways to prevent problems “to support employees with special conditions.”
Elsewhere in the industry
An industry overview conducted for the Insurance Portal by the InsuranceINTEL product information centre did not reveal any other players offering a group stay at work benefit.
However, even after more than one reminder, not all insurers responded to InsuranceINTEL's requests. Among those who did were Beneva, Desjardins Insurance, Empire Life, Equitable Life, Manulife and Medavie Blue Cross. According to statistics from Fraser Group's Group Universe Report, these insurers represented a market share of just over 45% in 2023.
While they don't mention offering a stay at work benefit, these insurers offer a variety of health and wellness support programs, from telemedicine to employee assistance programs to organizational health.
Among them, Beneva mentioned that over 85% of its insured groups benefit from the expertise of a dedicated team in supporting best practices in work attendance management, as well as health promotion and disease prevention.
Mental health
In an interview last fall with Insurance Portal’s sister publication the Portail de l’assurance, Gagné commented on the launch of a program called Mental Health Focus. It brings together products and services that plan members can offer their employees and dependents to support them in dealing with mental health issues.
Gagné believes that access to mental health care “is more than a hot topic, it's a societal issue…We are seeing a significant increase in mental health issues across Canada. They are the leading cause of disability."
She estimates that mental health issues account for around 40% of long-term disability claims. She adds that the duration of these disabilities has increased by 5%, compared to 2019. She also notes that the average duration of disability due to mental health issues is between 10 and 11 months.
Among the encouraging signs, Gagné noted that between 2020 and 2024, the number of groups covered by the employee assistance program offered by Desjardins increased. "This varies from year to year. For example, the membership rate was 11% in 2020, while it was 21% in 2024," she said. Among other things, these programs provide insureds with psychological support.
