If you’re receiving long-term disability (LTD) benefits and applying for Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPP-D), chances are your insurer has sent you a thick package of forms asking you to authorize the exchange of information between the insurer and Service Canada. These forms often arrive with a tone of urgency, and many people understandably assume that they’re required to sign everything.

They aren’t.

In fact, signing these forms can give your insurer far more access to your private medical information than is necessary—and in some cases, more access than is advisable.

At Mulqueen Disability Law, we help Ontario disability claimants navigate this issue daily. The same questions arise again and again: Do I need to sign this? What happens if I don’t? Will my insurer cut me off? Could this affect my CPP-D application?

This article breaks down what these forms really mean, how they affect your claims, and how to protect your rights.

Why Insurers Push CPP-D So Hard

Every LTD policy in Ontario contains an “offset clause.” In plain terms:

• If you qualify for CPP-Disability,
  
• your insurer can deduct your CPP-D benefit from your LTD monthly payments,
  
• and if CPP-D approves you retroactively, the insurer is entitled to recover an LTD overpayment.

This creates a strong financial incentive for insurers to push CPP-D applications and to obtain as much information as possible from Service Canada.

If you want a deeper understanding of how CPP-D works, including its stricter disability test, visit our detailed CPP-Disability Guide.

The Forms You’re Being Asked to Sign (and What They Actually Do)

Clients typically receive a series of documents that fall into a few predictable categories.

1. Broad “Authorization to Collect, Use, and Disclose Personal Information.”
These authorizations are drafted by the insurer and often allow your personal information to flow to a long list of parties—including employers, healthcare providers, other insurers, government programs, and, quite broadly, “any organization with relevant information.” These forms are not required for CPP-D and are often far more invasive than necessary.

2. The CPPD Retroactive Payment & Information Sharing Consent (ISP-1618).
This includes Consent A (allowing Service Canada to pay your entire retroactive CPP-D lump sum directly to the insurer) and Consent B (authorizing two-way communication between the insurer and Service Canada). Neither consent is legally required, and Consent A is irrevocable once signed.

3. Reimbursement Agreements. These documents confirm that you’ll repay any LTD overpayment resulting from a CPP-D approval. But this obligation already exists under every LTD policy. You do not need to sign a new agreement for the insurer to recover money it is contractually entitled to.

For more on your overall LTD rights, see our Long-Term Disability Lawyers page.

What You Are Legally Required to Do

Your obligations are simple:

• Apply for CPP-Disability (your policy requires this).
  
• Submit the CPP-D medical report directly to Service Canada.
  
• Notify your insurer of the CPP-D decision.
  
• Repay any overpayment if CPP-D is approved retroactively.
  

That’s it. You do not need to sign any other documents. None of the forms allowing information-sharing between your insurer and Service Canada are mandatory.

Why You Should Think Twice Before Signing Anything

Here’s the part most claimants don’t realize:

Signing these authorizations allows your insurer and Service Canada to share your medical information freely—and that can affect both your LTD benefits and your CPP-D claim.

A few reasons to be cautious:

Your insurer may use CPP-D evidence against you.

Insurers sometimes attempt to use medical evidence submitted to CPP-D to challenge your LTD entitlement. This is particularly problematic because CPP-D uses a stricter test for disability than most LTD policies. We discuss this issue in more detail in our guide on What Happens When an Insurer Pushes You to Apply for CPP-Disability

Service Canada may rely on your insurer’s denial.

Many claimants are surprised to learn that CPP-D may deny an application on the basis of an LTD insurer’s decision. If your insurer terminated your LTD claim, relied on an IME reporting “work capacity,” or asserted you could work in “any occupation,” Service Canada may consider that information if you authorize direct communication. This can be a real problem for clients whose LTD denial was flawed or based on incomplete medical evidence.

You lose control over your retroactive funds.

If Service Canada pays the retroactive lump sum directly to the insurer, you cannot verify whether the insurer calculated the overpayment correctly before the money is gone. Errors are very common.

Your privacy is worth protecting.

You are not being “difficult” by refusing to sign overly broad authorizations. Your right to medical privacy under Canadian law remains intact, even when you’re receiving LTD benefits.

A Simple Response to Your Insurer

If the insurer is pressuring you to sign these documents, here is a practical response you can use:

“I will provide all required CPP-D medical documentation directly to Service Canada. I am not authorizing information-sharing between the insurer and Service Canada. Once I receive a CPP-D decision, I will notify you immediately and will repay any resulting LTD overpayment. This fulfills all obligations under the policy.”

This statement is accurate, reasonable, and protects your privacy.

What Happens After the CPP-D Decision?

If CPP-D approves your claim:
You’ll receive a decision letter outlining your monthly benefit, the start date, and any retroactive payment. You simply forward this decision to your insurer and repay any overpayment after verifying the math. We regularly help clients review these calculations to ensure accuracy.

If CPP-D denies your claim:
Your LTD benefits continue. The CPP-D denial does not automatically mean you do not meet the LTD definition of disability. You may also have strong grounds to appeal the CPP-D decision. Our CPP-Disability Guide outlines next steps.

Contact us for a Free Consultation

Mulqueen Disability Law specializes in hard-to-prove long-term disability claims for “Invisible Conditions” such as mental illness (depression, anxiety, PTSD) and chronic conditions (pain, neurological, immunological, concussion, post-COVID)  Contact us for a free confidential consultation.

Mulqueen Disability Law is a boutique law firm, focused on litigating long-term disability insurance benefit claims. Courtney Mulqueen and her team of legal professionals are Trauma-Informed Certified and have over two decades of experience exclusively in the area of long-term disability law. She and her team draw on their “insider” experience working for the insurance companies (including, Canada Life, Sun Life, Manulife, and OTIP), that they now sue for their clients.  

The preceding is not intended to be legal advice. This blog is made available for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog, you understand that there is no solicitor client relationship between you and the blog publisher. The blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed lawyer in your jurisdiction. If your disability claim has been denied and you require legal advice, please contact a lawyer specializing in disability law.