Our next 2 blogs will be a compact summary of the various ways a business can manage the cost of benefits.  We are often asked about Health Spending Accounts, Flex Benefits, Cost-Plus, and Administrative-Services-Only as alternative ways to manage rising premiums.  This posting explains the most common form of purchasing benefits:  fully insured, with no risk being held by the Employer. How do you craft a benefits plan which will be popular with employees without breaking your budget?  How can you freeze your costs so that they are predictable for future budgeting purposes? Let's start…

With a flexible benefit plan, employees are able to choose the benefits and the level of coverage that's right for them.  Rather than provide a defined (one size fits all) package of benefits under a traditional benefits plan, a plan sponsor supplies plan members with benefit options (flex benefits). Plan members use credits allocated by the plan sponsor to purchase their benefits coverage, with different levels of coverage provided for each benefit type. When Plan Sponsors ask about flexible benefits, they are often told that flex benefits are only available to very large groups –…

Diabetes is a disease which affects many Canadians, and we are being told our children are at risk to develop Type 2 Diabetes early in their adult lives. Most people believe diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar. Well – yes and no. Genetics play a major part in whether you will get diabetes. Overweight is also a significant contributor, though many people who are overweight never go on to getting diabetes.   Some people who are not overweight get diabetes. A healthy diet and regular moderate exercise go a long way to preventing Type…

Yes! Out-of- Country Travel – Covers much more than just reimbursement of emergency medical expenses. A HUGE benefit you enjoy on your Extended Medical plan through your employer is emergency out-of- country medical expense coverage should you be hospitalized or have other unforeseen medical expenses while travelling. Often overlooked, however, are the other benefits you need to know about should you or an insured dependent become inconvenienced or incapacitated by a medical emergency. Now for the really important part! In a medical emergency it is crucial to phone the toll-free (or collect) phone number on your Travel Assistance Wallet…

  This is what a travel advisory warning looks like if you go to the Canadian Federal Government travel advisory website. Of course we should not be travelling to Syria for our summer vacation – which is really unfortunate, because Syria is said to be a beautiful country with many ancient historical sites that are (or once were) worth seeing. This post serves as a reminder of the very useful travel tool available at the Canadian Federal Government travel advisory website. In a world which seems increasingly more violent, we must wonder at times whether it is safe to travel. If you…