Depending on the size of your group, as well as the objectives and benefit plan budget of the sponsor, group benefit plans can vary greatly. The requirements and characteristics of each individual must also be thoroughly analyzed and reviewed, so that the benefit plan matches the objectives of the group as well as the plan sponsor.

The following are products and services that should carefully be considered when deciding how you want to design your group plan:

• Group Life Insurance:
  • Usually, there’s a mandatory level or life and death insurance that must be included in your group plan for your employees. However, it is recommended to have individual life insurance coverage for employees based on their own family needs.
• Dependent Life Insurance:
  • This is available to only the spouse and children of an employee. This insurance generally provides higher coverage for the spouse, than that which is available for children. Furthermore, coverage for children begins 14 days after birth, and continues until the child is 21 years old.
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment:
  • The benefit provides protection in case a member occurs death, or loss or loss of function of a limb, sight, hearing, or speech due to an accidental injury.
• Short-Term and Long-Term Disability:
  • With group plans today, you are capable of adding coverage on both short-term or long-term disability. From a broken leg that keeps you off your feet, to even a stroke that requires quite some time for recovery, a properly designed disability benefit will make sure that your employees and their families are protected.
• Extended Health Care:
  • As healthcare costs continue to rise, and healthcare services seem to decline, it requires you, as a group plan sponsor to create a plan that will attract hard-working employees. If you provide an extensive amount of health care coverage, employees will be given a peace of mind, knowing their families are taken care of, and will be able to concentrate on the work they have at hand—your business.
• Dental Care:
  • Dental services covered under the dental plan vary, however, the following are the way dental care services are generally categorized:
    • Basic
    • Orthodontics
    • Major Restorative
  • Critical Illness Benefits:
    • Critical illness is something that can happen without any warning and can produce disturbing results. Critical illness coverage makes sure that you are protected and looked after if you or your employees are diagnosed with a serious, long-term condition, as well as ensures that your finances remain stable and healthy.
  • Flexible Benefits:
    • This can be used as a method of cost control by employers. Employers can define the level of funding for the group plan each year, rather than having to determine costs by the increase in premium costs each time of renewal.
  • Health Care Spending Accounts

Health care spending accounts, also know as a HCSA, is an individual account of an employee, that reimburses any eligible health care expenses or benefits that aren’t covered under provincial health insurance plans.

• Cost Plus

This is an arrangement that provides the facility of payment of any legitimate expenses not covered by the insured benefit program. Cost plus claims are expenses that client wishes to have covered, over the present policy limits. In order to be eligible for cost plus, an expense must e qualified as an eligible medical or dental expense under the income tax act. Moreover, a cost plus arrangement can be set up with an insurer on a fee per claim basis.

• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

In order to achieve success as a business, the emotional well-being of employees is extremely important. In case your employees have any problems that could potentially lead to decreased productivity, time-management, or even a long-term disability claim, an EAP can be quite useful.