How early support shapes recovery

IN Partnership with

Co-operators highlights how early engagement, decision quality, and mental health dynamics are reshaping disability outcomes − pushing the industry to measure success beyond speed and duration

ASK JEN ROBERTSON what is changing in disability claims, and she will not start with technology. She will start with the first interaction. In her view, a disability claim is a human moment that can set the trajectory for engagement, recovery, and duration, especially in the first 30 days. That call, in her telling, is doing more work than the industry has historically given it credit for. “How a claim is handled in the first 30 days will strongly influence the claimant’s engagement, their recovery momentum, and, of course, the duration of the claim,” says Robertson, AVP disability claims at Co-operators, who has spent close to three decades in insurance. In an industry that still measures itself largely by adjudication speed, that early window is increasingly where cost, outcome, and trust are actually decided.

Co-operators is a proudly Canadian co-operative providing comprehensive group benefits solutions for organizations of all sizes. We offer innovative, customizable plans, including flexible benefits, supported by great people and a trusted network of caring experts. Secure online tools through Benefits Now® make plan management simple and efficient for advisors, plan sponsors, and plan members. Our compassionate claims specialists deliver responsive, effective support when it matters most. Competitive and stable plan rates ensure strong long-term value. Rooted in local communities, Co-operators understands Canada’s evolving benefits landscape and partners with organizations and their people to support healthier, more sustainable workplaces.

Find out more

“If a disability claim becomes overly transactional, we’ll see unintended consequences”

Jen Robertson, Co-operators

Complexity is no longer the exception The types of claims arriving on case managers’ desks look different than they did a decade ago, and the difference is not subtle. Mental health claims are rising, psychosocial factors are extending durations, regulatory and reputational scrutiny is sharper, and claims teams themselves are stretched thin. Robertson’s framing of the shift is direct. “Complexity isn’t the exception − it’s the baseline,” she says. That single sentence has uncomfortable implications for any operating model designed around the idea that complex files are outliers to be routed around a standardized core. It also changes what good performance looks like. The carriers that could pull ahead, Robertson argues, are not the ones that automate the fastest but the ones that build decision quality into their operating model. “What separates strong organizations now is whether they are scaling a process or scaling elevated decision quality,” she says. “Those are two very different things.”

Why mental health is testing disability models Mental health is where the limitations of the legacy disability model become hardest to ignore. These claims do not behave like the physical files the industry built its operating models around, and treating them as if they do tends to produce worse outcomes for everyone involved. “Mental health claims are different,” Robertson says. “They’re less linear.” Recovery rarely moves in a straight line. Workplace dynamics, access to timely care, fear of relapse, and a claimant’s continued engagement with treatment all sit inside the file in ways a checklist struggles to capture.

The result is that two people with what looks like the same claim can have very different experiences. “Two people with the same diagnosis can have really different functional impacts,” she says, depending on their role, their support systems, and how they are engaging in treatment. Some carriers, like Co-operators, are building people-first capability into operating models by investing in clinical literacy, early risk identification, and stronger first-phase interactions − so files don’t disengage and drift. “Psychological safety affects engagement of mental health claimants,” Robertson says. The hidden cost of transactional claims handling Where Robertson is most pointed is on the cost of getting the early experience wrong. Carriers that lean too hard on automation and standardization could end up paying for it in duration, she argues, adding, “If a disability claim becomes overly transactional, we’ll see unintended consequences.” The economics, in her view, are unforgiving. “A disengaged claimant is rarely a short-term duration claimant,” Robertson says. “When people are feeling misunderstood, we’re going to see outcomes worsen rather than improve,” and the file can derail entirely. Her preferred shift in measurement is small in language and large in implication. It’s “moving away from ‘how fast did we process this claim?’ toward ‘how well was the first phase of the claim managed?’” she says.

What ‘people first’ means in practice “People first” has become a broad phrase in financial services. In disability, the approach is most credible when it is structured, clinically grounded, and defensible − when decisions are anchored to diagnosis, function, and treatment; expectations are set early; and communication preserves dignity, especially in emotionally complex claims. Done well, it improves outcomes through decision quality and consistency, not by lowering standards. It means building clinical literacy that goes beyond the diagnostic label and actively working to prevent what Robertson calls “drift,” where files continue to be paid without a credible recovery pathway forward.

“People-first is not about softer adjudication... [It’s about] more proactive adjudication that will stay anchored in recovery”

“People first is not about softer adjudication,” she says, but rather “more proactive adjudication that will stay anchored in recovery.” A shared accountability ecosystem If complexity is the new baseline, engagement is the variable that moves the numbers. “When a claimant feels respected and understood, they’re more likely to share important information, participate in treatment, and collaborate on a sustainable return-to-work plan,” says Robertson. The inverse is just as measurable. “If the claimant is experiencing an overly transactional feeling, or they’re disengaged,” she says, “it shows up as a longer duration,” often with repeated delays and higher escalation risk. The leverage point, particularly when carriers have to deliver unfavourable decisions, is the pairing of clarity with humanity. The downside of underinvesting is operationally visible. “When claims teams are overwhelmed, what we see is that decisions become very reactive, and that risk of drift really rises,” Robertson says. Disability outcomes, Robertson is quick to point out, are not the property of any single actor. Advisors shape plan design and expectations. Employers and HR shape early accommodations and workplace engagement. Carriers shape decision quality and consistency. Vendors shape treatment trajectory. What plan sponsors are asking for in that ecosystem has shifted. “Strong claims adjudication is table stakes,” Robertson says. Sponsors are now “looking for a partner who can improve outcomes and provide guidance to both their employee and also to the employer.”

Redefining what winning looks like When asked how success in disability case management will be measured a year or two from now, Robertson does not hesitate. The metrics, she believes, are about to change. Duration will still matter, but the industry is moving toward new measures that predict durable outcomes: engagement, decision consistency, and sustainable return-to-work. Optimizing only for speed can create recurrence or premature outcomes that are not sustained. The next phase will reward carriers who measure the quality of the journey − not just the speed of closure.

Published Jun 15, 2026

Jen Robertson, Co-operators

“Strong claims adjudication is table stakes… [Sponsors are now] looking for a partner who can improve outcomes and provide guidance to both their employee and also to the employer”

Jen Robertson, Co-operators

“When claims teams are overwhelmed, what we see is that decisions become very reactive, and that risk of drift really rises”

Jen Robertson, Co-operators