Employee Benefits Basics

I loved the book Atomic Habits by James Clear and was inspired to share with you all how I structure my day for maximum success and to create an upward spiral towards achieving my goals as an employee benefits leader within Beneplan

LTD cases plummeted in 2020... Why? Warehousing illnesses, later diagnoses, but could it be that people are less triggered when they're working from home and away from stressors? Do we think insurers will decrease LTD rates as a result? Spoiler: nope!

It's only a matter of time until people realize that their benefit plan is starting to look like their Netflix account - lots of choice on creators (carriers/services), hyper personalized, on-demand, and digital. We're not going back to the 'old normal' and people will be able to Uber Eldercare to their homes in 2 hours...through their benefit plan. How will you be part of it?

Why do some insurance companies give different rates to different brokers...on the same client, same plan design, same claims experience and demographics? Four reasons: (1) block arrangements (2) different commissions as directed by the advisor (3) different plan design, and (4) they just felt like it. 

The very first thing on my new year checklist is to start to prepare for spring renewals. Your May renewals should start now with analysis, discussion and gathering questions from your clients. Be prepared and proactively anticipate questions.

Plan sponsors moving carriers in the middle of covid are most likely doing it for either ease of use of a new platform, because they've been hit with very high increases at renewal, a tax angle such as the EI Premium Reduction Program, or simply changing their agent of record that was in the works prior to the pandemic. Here are some tips on what to do to ensure a smooth transition.

The tectonic plates of benefits products are shifting, and this is the time to make changes. Strike when the iron is hot and get better benefits coverage out there now. Think: double the mental health benefit, telemedicine, and stability in rates.

Be outcome oriented. Protect your client on how the sausage is made. Don't make them make 100 little decisions. Understand their bottom line outcome and curate a plan and experience that achieves that outcome. Finally, today and every day, Black Lives Matter.

No-one can take away the magical gift you have - the ability to build a relationship with a business owner. THAT is the magic. The rest are tools to help you do what you do best.

Beneplan just released the 2019 annual report, publishing the $2.5 million in dividends that are paid to plan sponsors, aka, our customers.

Everyone gets nervous. Everyone had felt the sting of rejection. And most business leaders suffer from some sort of imposter syndrome. If you've ever felt intimidated to talk to an important client, or scared to pick up the phone and talk to someone with authority, try a 30 day rejection challenge. See if you can get rejected every day... even if it's something small.

Insurance companies are making broad statements about renewals or premiums being deferred, but it's a double edged sword. Be careful, read the fine print, and talk to your clients.

During normal circumstances, there is a generally accepted method of extending benefits during layoff. We'll talk about that, and also about the implications of a pandemic and how that impacts benefits during this time.

We've had many brokers ask us if they should still be prospecting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The short answer is yes, but be extremely sensitive about how you go about it. Don't use generic messaging - be generous with your information, be practical and tactical in the information you share, and do your homework if they are an essential service. 

The new legislated Act respecting certain measures in response to COVID-19 has just received Royal assent - here is our interpretation of the law with respect to employee benefits.

Our partners, Maple telemedicine (getmaple.ca) have added a free COVID-19 screening assessment within their app that all Ontarians with an OHIP card can use at no cost. Further, Shopper's Drug Mart has sponsored free virtual care visits with a GP, NP or ER doctor until March 23, 2020. This is a great tool for anyone who is sick or has symptoms but is staying home and unable to enter a clinic or ho...

Green Shield Canada released a statement regarding how the novel CoronaVirus (COVID-19) impacts their Canadian group benefit plan members.

The Co-operators Life Ins. Co has issued a statement regarding COVID-19 considerations around Canadian group benefits coverage. 

Many companies who buy benefits think they don't need to buy "pooled benefits" at first: group life insurance, critical illness, short term disability or long term disability. That said, it is very important to have in a benefit plan and there is a way you can successfully add these products to your customer's shelf.

Commission disclosure is important. It's very important to disclose the total amount of fees, commissions and bonuses that you earn on a group account. One, it's the right thing to do. Two, your client will find out eventually and they better find out from you. Three, if you don't, the financial regulator will force you to do so.

I see many brokers, carriers and clients operate from a position of fear rather than abundance. Fear drives behaviour, such as fighting in channel conflict wars, dealing with LOA requests, or a client refusing to hand over data. I urge you to refuse to work on this basis and instead, operate from a position of abundance and strength: there's plenty of business to go around, most if it will come yo...

There is a huge increase in merger and acquisition activity (M&A) in Canada, and when your group benefits client is a business that has just been sold to a new company, you are at risk of losing that group. When you are defending the group from terminating your services, you need to keep 5 things in mind: have confidence, it's all about the money, impress the new owners, polish up your present...

Although I'm a licensed agent, I am not on the hunt for new business... I rely on our strong broker network to do so. That said, there are 8 things that I do in my life that inadvertently bring me an average of 3 new leads per week. They are: writing for industry magazines, direct mail, my personal network and social media, providing outstanding service to existing customers, learning the google s...

The seasons of the year do matter in employee benefits. Claiming patterns and practices can change depending upon the time of the year or the industry. For example, construction may lay off people in the winter months and recall them in the spring. A school may hire new teachers in September and provide a fixed term contract until June, but still have a Jan 1 start date for their benefits year. Ke...

It's so important that all group benefits advisors read a group benefits booklet and contract from cover to cover. It's critical because most of the answers are in there, and 90% of people will never read it from start to finish. Highlight anything you don't understand and ask someone for help - an insurer, peer or mentor. In this episode, we cover a few examples of how contract wording can cause...