Although Cocoon cannot prevent carriers from directly contacting employers or employees on leave, we can offer support
A general understanding around why these follow-ups happen
Who is tasked with handling these requests?
As an employee:
It's common for insurance carriers to contact claimants seeking benefits to confirm information, and this can happen for a couple of reasons:
It’s the insurance companies due diligence to reach out to confirm information received.
To verify the accuracy of the information received.
Their purpose is to verify that claimants receive accurate benefits/entitlements, confirm that no changes have occurred since the claim was initially received, prevent fraud, and avoid the necessity of reissuing payments.
As an employer:
It's a common practice for insurance carriers to contact the employer of an employee seeking benefits. As part of their diligence processes, insurance carriers verify information with the employer for several reasons:
To verify accuracy of the information, especially salary information
Confirm there have been no changes since the claim was received
To cross check the information provided with the employer policy
Ensure the employer is aware that a STD claim has been filed and confirm whether there is a workers compensation claim
Fraud prevention
To avoid having to reissue payments
Who should handle these requests?
As Cocoon:
Ideally, Cocoon would receive any requests for information in relation to the employer section for private insurance claims. When Cocoon receives these requests we act promptly to ensure the continued processing of an employee's claim.
We share our contact information on the claims forms being filed for any requests to come directly to us. However, we have no control over private insurance carriers' internal processes or their pathways for escalations such as bypassing the contact information provided for employers on the claim to instead use the contact information associated with the policy.
As employee:
Please respond to the private insurance carrier with the information they’ve requested. If you find yourself uncertain please reach out to Cocoon and we're happy to provide some guidance. However, as the claimant, you are the best person to handle the request and due to the privacy restrictions surrounding disability claims private insurance carriers want to hear from you. This will help reduce any unnecessary delays in the processing of your claim.
As employer:
Although Cocoon does our best to direct requests for information to come to us directly, private insurance carriers may still reach out to you without coming to Cocoon first or at all. In the event this happens, please forward the request for information to Cocoon. We'll complete them and submit the information right away to keep the employee’s claim moving forward.
It is important to note that there are some requests for information that Cocoon may not be able to answer and we will escalate to you for assistance while still handling the request on your behalf. This is seen primarily for information Cocoon does not collect. Examples of requests Cocoon may need to reach out to you for assistance in handling are as follows:
Requests regarding salary discrepancies such as a recent increase in pay just as employee’s leave started
Requests for commision and/or PTO amounts
Requests for if employees are eligible / enrolled in LTD