Description of Group Benefits Available

Group Life Insurance Benefits

Employee Term Life Insurance is available for each employee. Benefits can range from one to five times annual salary or can be based on a flat amount. Depending on the number of employees generous amounts may be available without medical evidence.
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Dependent Life Insurance

Many employees do not have sufficient insurance coverage on their spouses or dependent children. This benefit provides an inexpensive way to make additional protection available. Usually coverage is a nominal amount, such as $10,000 on the spouse and $5,000 on each child.
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Accidental Death & Dismemberment

Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage provides your employees with an ideal opportunity, at a minimal cost, to significantly increase the insurance payable to beneficiaries. Should death occur due to accidental means, an additional death benefit payout is made, usually for the same amount as the Life Insurance. Payments are also made for loss of limb, hearing, or eyesight.
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Group Critical Illness

Critical Illness benefits provide an immediate lump-sum cash payment to an employee diagnosed with a serious illness including heart attack, stroke, cancer, kidney failure, and much more. Simple and inexpensive plans which cover only 3 or 4 conditions may be purchased, or more comprehensive plans which cover over 20 conditions are available for a slightly higher premium. Group Critical Illness is very reasonable compared to individual purchases, and is usually available without any medical requirements.
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Short Term Disability Benefits

The Short Term Disability benefit provides income replacement for illness or injury occurring on or off the job. Coordination with Workers Compensation benefits is standard along with a wide selection of waiting periods, maximum benefit periods and can be structured so that an employee’s benefit payment is tax-free income. Benefits are paid weekly and this coverage is meant for shorter-term illnesses or accidents which prevent an employee from working.
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Long Term Disability Benefits

Long Term Disability offers income replacement for disease or injury which would prevent an employee from working for an extended period of time. Benefits will be payable to age 65 as long as the disabled employee meets the Plan’s definition of disability. Shorter plans can also be arranged if required. Several options are available, allowing the program to be tailored to your needs.
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Extended Health Care Benefits

All of Canada’s provincial health care plans provide us with valuable basic hospital, physician, and medical coverage. The provinces are slowly stripping away coverage to keep their costs in line, which means the Extended Health Coverage you can offer your employees is becoming more valuable than ever. This benefit reimburses expenses such as: Prescription Drugs, Ambulance Services, Medical Services & Supplies, Massage Therapy, Chiropractors, Physiotherapy, Special Nursing, Semi-Private Hospital rooms, Oral Contraceptives, Hearing Aids, Vision Care, and more. A wide range of options is available and a plan can be tailored to be affordable for your business.
An important and often overlooked element of Extended Health Benefits is that most plans include generous out-of-country emergency medical insurance and ancillary services, such as translation services, arrangements to return rental car, information services to relatives back home, and much more. Make sure your plan has this coverage, and make sure the coinsurance is 100% reimbursement on travel medical expenses.
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Dental Care Benefits

A dental plan can be designed based on the demographics of your business to ensure a good fit for your organization. In addition to Basic and Routine Dental services, coverage for crowns, dentures, or Orthodontics can be included depending on the needs of your employees.
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Employee and Family Assistance Program (EAP or EAFP)

An Employee & Family Assistance program can provide your employees with guidance on a wide range of topics including legal and financial issues, parenting resources, or advice for personal and work related problems. Significant value is available to the employees and/or family members through free, professional short-term counselling to help with issues such as marital difficulties, addiction, bereavement, and much more. The program’s counsellors can be a tremendous resource for longer-term assistance. Most EAP providers have extensive websites to research routine matters such as nutrition, healthy living or medications, and may even provide e-counselling or telephone counselling for those employees where face-to-face counselling may not be appropriate or desired.
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Cost Plus or Health Spending Account

A “Cost plus” Medical Reimbursement Plan or formal Health Spending Account are tax effective ways to enhance the compensation package for your executives and longer term employees. Cost Plus can be used to cover any medical expense allowable under Revenue Canada’s guidelines if they are not covered under your standard employee benefit program. Since Cost Plus expenses are paid with pre-tax funds from your business, and not the disposable income from your employees, it is a very tax-effective way to reward more senior employees, and without attracting payroll taxes. A Health Spending Account (HSA) is a more formalized addition to your benefits plan which enables a small business owner to provide an element of “flex plan” to a group of employees. Usually an HSA is offered in partnership with a Health plan which has been somewhat stripped-down – for instance there may be no Vision Care or Paramedical Services, or the Drug Deductible may be somewhat higher than normal. The added Health Spending Account is the vehicle used to pay for these routine and predictable expenses.
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