Sun Life U.S. creates new absence management solution, using employer and employee feedback to make absence easier

WELLESLEY, Mass., Jan. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sun Life U.S. has launched a new in-house absence management solution that simplifies the complexities of managing paid and unpaid leaves of absence and leverages the power of one – one state-of-the-art system to manage all applicable absences under one claim number, one contact to answer all absence-related questions, and one end-to-end intuitive digital experience. With support for ADA/ADAAA accommodations, Sun Life absence management fully integrates federal/FMLA, state, local and company-specific plans with short-term disability, statutory disability, and paid family and medical leave (PFML). The solution's design is powered by client insights and is supported by the FINEOS platform. It alleviates the administrative burdens of absence claims, allowing HR to focus more on employees and employees to focus on recovery or caring for family.

Sun Life interviewed employees around the country who had gone on leave for various reasons and found their greatest sources of frustration were independently navigating the process and connecting with the appropriate people.

"When an employee goes on a leave of absence it's often a challenging time in their lives, and we want to put them at ease so they can focus on their reason for leave, and on successfully returning to work," said David Healy, senior vice president, Group Benefits, Sun Life U.S. "An absence event can bring the added stress of managing an illness, injury, or important family moment, so navigating the claims process needs to be easy. We have created an intuitive, easy-to-navigate digital experience where employees can view all the absence benefits they are filing for under one claim number, and work with one case manager to address all of their questions and concerns."

As the legislative landscape continues to evolve, absence management becomes increasingly complicated for employers, particularly those who operate in multiple states and must contend with various PFML programs. As a leader in disability, paid leave and absence management, with decades of experience, Sun Life brings clinical, vocational and compliance expertise together with digital tools that make HR's job easier.

"We are committed to providing the best possible experience to employer clients and employee members, and that starts with listening to their feedback and delivering solutions that address their needs," said Kevin Kreminski, senior vice president, National Accounts, Sun Life U.S. "Our absence management offering was uniquely developed by gaining an understanding from employers and their employees on how we could improve their absence management experience. Combining our commitment to the client experience with the newest technologies and our in-depth expertise enables us to make managing absence easier for everyone involved."

Sun Life's client-centric absence management solution provides a streamlined process to manage all absence benefits the employee is using, regardless of the type – for example, an employee might take short-term disability, FMLA, and the company's own maternity leave concurrently. The intuitive digital experience includes educational tools, real-time claim status updates available to both HR and the employee, and on-demand, fully customizable reporting and dashboards, also with real-time claim information. Employers don't have to "be the expert" when it comes to absence, and can get time back to focus on the things that matter most – running their business and supporting employees.

In addition to disability benefits, Sun Life offers paid family leave management in New York and PFML in Massachusetts, with plans to launch PFML in Connecticut and Washington on 1/1/2022. For more information about Sun Life Absence Management Solutions and ADA Accommodations, visit www.sunlife.com/absencesolutions.

About Sun Life

Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2020, Sun Life had total assets under management of C$1,186 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of insurance products and services in the U.S. includes disability, absence management, life, dental, vision, voluntary, supplemental health and medical stop-loss. Sun Life and its affiliates in asset management businesses in the U.S. employ approximately 5,500 people. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

Media contacts:
Devon Fernald
Sun Life U.S.
781-800-3609
[email protected] 

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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.