If you apply for Canada Life disability benefits, your doctor or other eligible health-care provider may be asked to complete an Attending Physician Statement (APS).
The APS is an important medical document used during the disability claims process. It can provide Canada Life with information about your diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and — critically — how your medical condition affects your ability to function and work.
Canada Life uses different medical forms depending on the type of coverage and claim. This guide focuses primarily on workplace short-term and long-term disability claims. Always use the specific form Canada Life asks you and your health-care provider to complete.
On This Page:
- 1. What Is the Canada Life APS?
- 2. What the Form Asks For
- 3. Functional Limitations
- 4. Can Canada Life Contact Your Doctor?
- 5. Problems With the APS
- 6. FAQs
What Is the Canada Life Attending Physician Statement?
The Canada Life Attending Physician Statement is a medical form completed by a treating health-care provider as part of certain disability claims.
Canada Life’s current workplace disability process requires medical information alongside information from the employee and employer. For short-term disability and early referral claims, Canada Life publishes an APS that can be completed by a physician or, where applicable, a nurse practitioner.
Canada Life’s current disability employee guide tells claimants to have their health-care provider complete a physician statement as part of the claim submission process.
Who completes the Canada Life APS?
The medical portion should be completed by the appropriate health-care provider identified on the form.
You shouldn’t complete the doctor’s medical answers yourself or tell your health-care provider what medical opinion to give.
You can, however:
- make sure your doctor has an accurate description of your job;
- explain your actual symptoms and limitations;
- provide relevant information about your treatment;
- make sure required sections haven’t accidentally been left blank; and
- keep a copy of the completed form where possible.
What Does the Canada Life Attending Physician Statement Ask For?
Canada Life’s current short-term disability APS asks the health-care provider for information that can include:
- Primary diagnosis
- Secondary diagnoses or complications
- Date the condition began affecting work
- Treatment, including medication or therapy
- Prognosis for recovery
- Expected return-to-work information
- Symptoms, severity and frequency for longer absences
- Specialist involvement
- Functional abilities
- Relevant test results, investigations or consultation reports, where applicable
Canada Life’s form specifically asks the provider to describe the patient’s current cognitive and physical functional abilities for absences expected to last longer than four weeks.
Does Canada Life ask for test results?
For longer absences, Canada Life’s APS asks the provider to attach relevant test results or investigations and consultation reports where applicable.
Not every disability has a single diagnostic test that proves whether someone can work. Conditions involving chronic pain, fatigue or mental-health symptoms, for example, can require a broader assessment of symptoms, treatment and functional limitations.
Why Are Functional Limitations Important on the Canada Life APS?
Functional limitations explain what your medical condition prevents you from doing.
For example, depending on your condition and occupation, limitations could involve:
- sitting or standing for prolonged periods;
- walking or lifting;
- using your hands or arms;
- concentration or memory;
- working at a consistent pace;
- managing pain or fatigue;
- maintaining regular attendance;
- interacting with colleagues or customers;
- coping with stress or deadlines; or
- performing safety-sensitive duties.
The relevant limitations will depend on your actual medical condition and job. They should reflect your doctor’s medical opinion — not generic wording copied from another disability claim.
What if your doctor only writes the diagnosis?
A diagnosis can be important, but it may not explain why you are unable to work.
For example:
- “Major depressive disorder” doesn’t by itself explain whether you can concentrate, attend work reliably or tolerate workplace stress.
- “Chronic back pain” doesn’t explain how long you can sit, stand or lift.
- “Migraine disorder” doesn’t explain frequency, severity or how attacks affect attendance and concentration.
Where medically appropriate, the APS should connect the condition to the claimant’s functional abilities.
How to Help Your Doctor Complete a Canada Life APS
Your doctor’s opinion must remain independent, but you can make it easier for them to understand the work-related context.
Give your doctor an accurate job description
A health-care provider may not know what your job actually requires.
Explain relevant duties such as:
- lifting requirements;
- prolonged sitting or standing;
- shift work;
- driving;
- computer or concentration demands;
- customer interaction;
- deadlines or multitasking; and
- safety-sensitive responsibilities.
Explain your symptoms honestly
Don’t exaggerate, but don’t minimize your condition.
If your symptoms fluctuate, explain what happens on both better and worse days and whether you can perform activities repeatedly over the course of a normal workweek.
Ask whether the form is complete
You shouldn’t change your doctor’s medical answers. However, before the form is submitted, you can check whether required sections appear to have been completed and whether relevant supporting records requested by the form are being included.
Does Canada Life Contact Your Doctor to Verify a Disability Claim?
Canada Life may rely on the medical forms and records submitted with your claim, but it can also seek additional relevant medical information where permitted by the authorization you provide.
Canada Life’s current disability claim materials state that claimant consent allows relevant information to be obtained from sources that can include doctors and other health-care providers for the purpose of assessing and administering the claim.
That doesn’t mean Canada Life will call your doctor in every claim. Whether it contacts your provider depends on the circumstances and whether more information is required.
What should you do if Canada Life contacts your doctor?
If Canada Life requests additional information:
- ask what information is needed;
- follow up with your doctor’s office so the request isn’t missed;
- keep copies of forms and reports where possible; and
- ask questions if you don’t understand why particular information is being requested.
Who Pays for the Canada Life Attending Physician Statement?
Canada Life’s disability forms state that the claimant is responsible for fees charged by the health-care provider for completing the medical form.
Your doctor’s office may charge a form-completion fee. The amount depends on the provider.
If Canada Life later requests additional medical information or a separate assessment, responsibility for those costs can depend on the nature of the request and the plan.
Common Canada Life APS Problems That Can Affect a Disability Claim
An incomplete or unclear medical form can make it harder to assess whether you meet the disability requirements in your plan.
Potential problems include:
- Blank sections: Important questions are left unanswered.
- Diagnosis without functional information: The condition is identified but the effect on work isn’t explained.
- Unclear prognosis: There is little information about expected recovery or return to work.
- Missing supporting records: Relevant consultation reports or investigations requested on the form haven’t been included.
- Inconsistencies: Important information on the APS doesn’t appear to match other medical or claim records.
- Outdated information: The medical form no longer reflects your current condition.
If Canada Life believes more information is required, it may ask for clarification or additional medical documentation.
What if your doctor writes “TBD” for return to work?
There are situations where a doctor genuinely can’t predict when a patient will be able to return to work.
If the return date is unknown, it can help for the medical information to explain why more recovery, investigation or treatment is required before the provider can make that determination.
The doctor should give the opinion that is medically appropriate rather than inventing a return-to-work date simply to complete the form.
Can an Incomplete Canada Life APS Cause a Disability Claim to Be Denied?
Missing or insufficient medical information can affect a disability claim.
Canada Life’s current disability employee materials state that refusing required consent can result in delay or denial of a claim, and that claims submitted after the notice period in the group contract may also be denied.
An incomplete APS doesn’t necessarily mean an automatic denial. Canada Life may request additional information depending on the circumstances.
If your claim is denied because Canada Life says the medical evidence is insufficient, identify exactly what it believes is missing.
Can you submit more medical information?
Potentially. Depending on the claim and stage of the process, relevant additional evidence could include:
- an updated APS;
- clinical records;
- specialist reports;
- test results;
- treatment-provider reports; or
- more detailed information about restrictions and limitations.
The goal should be to address the actual issue identified in the claim — not simply send more paperwork without understanding what Canada Life says is missing.
What If Canada Life Denies Your Claim Because of Medical Evidence?
If Canada Life denies your STD or LTD claim because it says the medical evidence doesn’t establish disability, start with the denial letter.
Determine:
- what information Canada Life says is insufficient;
- whether the insurer misunderstood your doctor’s evidence;
- whether functional limitations were clearly documented;
- whether important medical records were missing; and
- whether Canada Life and your doctors fundamentally disagree about your ability to work.
In some cases, stronger medical information can address the problem. In others, submitting more evidence may not resolve a fundamental disagreement about whether you meet the policy’s disability definition.
Read our guide to a Canada Life disability claim denial.
How Samfiru Tumarkin LLP Can Help With a Canada Life Medical-Evidence Dispute
Samfiru Tumarkin LLP’s disability lawyers have years of experience reviewing disability claims involving medical forms, functional limitations and allegations of insufficient medical evidence, including claims involving Canada Life.
If your Canada Life claim has been denied or delayed over medical information, we can review:
- your disability plan or policy;
- the Attending Physician Statement;
- other medical records and reports;
- Canada Life’s request for additional information;
- the denial or termination letter;
- whether additional evidence could address the issue; and
- whether an internal appeal or legal claim makes sense.
Consultations for disability claims are free. If we take on your case, disability matters can be handled on a contingency-fee basis, meaning legal fees are paid from the recovery rather than upfront.
➡️ Contact Samfiru Tumarkin LLP to speak with a disability lawyer about your Canada Life claim.
Canada Life Attending Physician Statement FAQs
What is the Canada Life Attending Physician Statement?
It is a medical form used in certain Canada Life disability claims. The treating health-care provider supplies information about diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and, where applicable, symptoms and functional abilities.
What should my doctor include on the Canada Life APS?
Your doctor should answer the questions on the applicable form accurately and completely. Depending on the form, this can include diagnosis, symptoms, treatment, prognosis, expected return to work and cognitive or physical functional abilities.
Does Canada Life contact my doctor to verify the claim?
Canada Life may obtain relevant information from your doctor or other health-care providers where permitted by your authorization and needed to assess the claim. It doesn’t necessarily contact the doctor in every case.
Does Canada Life rely only on the Attending Physician Statement?
Not necessarily. The APS can be an important medical document, but Canada Life may consider other relevant information and may request additional medical records or clarification during a claim.
Who pays the doctor to complete the Canada Life APS?
Canada Life’s current forms state that the claimant is responsible for the fees charged for completing the physician statement.
Can my nurse practitioner complete the Canada Life APS?
Canada Life’s current short-term disability APS states that a nurse practitioner may complete the form where applicable. The appropriate provider can depend on the form and claim, so use the instructions on the specific form Canada Life provides.
Can an incomplete APS delay my Canada Life claim?
Potentially. If important information is missing, Canada Life may need additional information before it can assess the claim. Missing required consent or late submission can also affect processing under Canada Life’s published disability materials.
Can Canada Life deny my claim because the medical evidence is insufficient?
Canada Life can deny a claim if it concludes that the available evidence doesn’t establish that you meet the disability requirements of your plan. If your doctors continue to support your inability to work, the denial may be challenged.
Should I appeal if Canada Life says my medical evidence isn’t enough?
It depends on the reason for denial. An appeal can be useful where additional or clearer medical information directly addresses the issue. If the disagreement is more fundamental, an appeal may not be your only option. A disability lawyer can help assess the best next step.
Independent Legal Information: This page was prepared by Samfiru Tumarkin LLP as an independent legal resource for people dealing with disability claims. Samfiru Tumarkin LLP is not affiliated with or endorsed by Canada Life. The forms and information required can vary by plan, condition and claim.