Since the point of an editorial is to create a discussion on the trends and issues affecting our industry, I was glad to see my latest — in the January/February issue — sparked a good debate. The print edition of Benefits Canada doesn’t have a Letters to the Editor section, so I’m compiling all the […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association has been conducting weekly calls with its members since mid-January to discuss issues around the ongoing coronavirus crisis, including how insurers can develop messaging and policies to communicate to plan sponsors. “We’ve basically been facilitating weekly calls to say, ‘OK, we have a very fluid situation.’ It changes […]
Ontario’s new publicly funded cognitive behavioural therapy program is likely to complement, not replace, the CBT offerings that are currently available through group benefits plans, say experts. Last week, the Ontario government announced it will invest $20 million to launch Mindability, which it will roll out in the spring and further expand in the fall. The program will provide […]
Canada Life is working with Dialogue Technologies Inc. to make virtual health care a standard benefit for its group benefits plans with up to 400 plan members. When the change takes effect this summer, employees who are covered by the insurer’s group benefits plans will have access to Dialogue’s bilingual virtual health-care platform through a mobile app or […]
Scotiabank is expanding its maternity and parental leave top-up pay for Canadian employees and providing access to a virtual health-care program. Eligible employees will receive six weeks of parental leave top-up pay at 100 per cent of salary, which supplements employment insurance maternity and parental benefits. As such, birth mothers will receive 12 weeks of […]
Morneau Shepell Ltd. is selling its benefits consulting business to Hub International Ltd. The benefits component of Morneau Shepell’s consulting business, which represents about three per cent of its revenue, sold for $70 million. “We are very focused on our growth strategy, which includes being clear market leaders in the businesses in which we operate, […]
Canada Life is entering into an agreement with League Inc. to offer the health technology company’s digital benefits platform alongside its group services. The partnership aims to offer employers more choice and simplify how they administer and deliver their benefits plans, according to a press release. “We are always looking for new and innovative ways to […]
The majority (90 per cent) of Canadian employers now offer at least one non-insurance benefit such as paid time off, employee assistance programs or flexible working, according to a new survey by business research organization LIMRA Inc. The survey found paid time off was by far the most popular non-insurance benefit for employers of all sizes to offer, with […]
A former federal government employee is launching a proposed $10-million class action lawsuit against Sun Life over how the insurer calculated cost-of-living increases on long-term disability benefits payments. The claim, filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by Ottawa law firm Connolly Obagi LLP, alleges Sun Life willfully miscalculated the cost-of-living increases incorrectly for Giulia Belec, the […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is asking the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to include workplace-related factors when it sets maximum prices for medications. In its submission for the PMPRB’s consultation on its draft guidelines, which were released in November, the CLHIA said the life and health insurance industry is very supportive of the […]