Glossary
You can book a meeting to talk to a Vital Partners advisor about your situation and find a plan that works for you.
No. Neither individuals nor employees need to answer health questions as part of the sign up process.
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You can change your plan level once per year, starting on your first plan anniversary. If you sign up for the GroupBenefitz Silver plan in June, you can move to the GroupBenefitz Gold Plan the following June.
You can also move to a lesser plan after one year.
Yes, please let us know if you would like to cancel your add-on benefits. You can cancel any time.
No, you can use your regular pharmacy if you wish. Certain medications can't be dispensed by Pocketpills, and sometimes you need a prescription in a hurry!
With Pocketpills you enjoy prescription delivery to your door, and 10% extra coverage at Bronze and Silver benefit levels.
If you're in another province, please contact us. We would be happy to refer you to a trusted partner in your province or territory.
Our GroupBenefitz plan family is made up of all kinds of people -- some who are pillars of health and others who are not so lucky. We collectively share the financial risks of illness and injury for all of them, including you and your family.
The GroupBenefitz platform strives to understand how the use is to understand how the use of the plan is changing and factor that into members' rates. Our goal is to maintain stable rates, and promise not to change rates more than once in a 12-month period.
Within one week of signing up, you will receive a copy of your benefits card via email. You'll also have access to an app where you can access your card information, submit claims, check the status of claims, and check coverage.
You can maintain your GroupBenefitz coverage for as long as you are working at least 20 hours per week and until the age of 75.
Yes. You can use your Health Spending Account to pay for your GroupBenefitz plan premiums. Just submit proof of payment and select "premiums paid to a non-government health and dental plan." The cost of premiums for a non-government health and dental plan are a tax-free benefit.
Group benefits coverage offers affordable life insurance, disability, and critical illness insurance while you are employed with your company.
There are a few considerations to keep in mind:
If you have to leave your employer, either voluntarily or due to other factors, group benefits aren’t always portable. Conversion options tend to be costly and limited.
When you have group insurance coverage, your employer controls it. The amount can be changed, the coverage can be cancelled.
A change in insurability can stem from a number of factors including health changes (even if they aren’t life threatening), lifestyle changes, etc.
We can help with a needs analysis tool that will help determine the ideal amount of coverage for your unique situation. We can help you balance your needs and your budget while sourcing the most practical type of coverage and most affordable insurer.
We’re brokers, so we can obtain rates from any Canadian insurer based on your age, gender, and smoking status.
Our goal is to help reduce the confusion surrounding insurance options and to help source the best fit for you.
Unlimited virtual pain consultations with an athletic therapist.
Access lawyers from a wide range of disciplines plus HR support for business leaders.
Register for PocketPills, a virtual pharmacy and increase coverage amount for prescription medications by 10%.
There are two levels of coverage to choose from, starting at $30 / m.
Maple, Canada's leading virtual care provider, allows embers to connect to a professional therapist for counselling. Doctors are available to provide medical advice, diagnoses, treatment and more.
Let us help you find out by Requesting A Plan Review - by completing this form we can compare benefit plan options that are suitable for your company and see how your current plan stacks up.
Benefits [ben-uh-fits]
as defined by Vital Partners
A collection of tangible and intangible perks offered to employees and/or owners. Examples include Health, Dental, Disability, Life, Critical Illness and Wellness benefits.
Please click on the green login button at the top right corner of our website. Alternatively, this link will direct you there as well.
You may also like to use the mobile app for iPhone or Android. It's free and makes submitting claims a snap.
There are a number of ways to inject flexibility into a benefits plan. Here are a couple of examples:
A benefit plan that would allow employees to choose coverage levels based on their needs.
A health spending account or wellness account that allow employees to use predetermined allocation for whatever matters most to them.
More information about employee and employer advantages can be found here.
An HSA (Private Health Services Plan) is a Canada Revenue Agency approved method to provide, medical, dental, and vision benefits in a tax-efficient manner.
A corporation can write off 100% of the costs relating to a Health Spending Account, and all expenses are reimbursed tax-free to employees.
An employer can top up an existing benefits plan with a Health Spending Account or it can be provided to employees on a stand-alone basis.
Health Spending accounts (HSAs) or Private Health Spending Accounts (PHSAs) make it easy for you to care for your employees, your family, and yourself.
Yes, we can tailor a benefits plan for as few as two employees.
To quickly determine which benefits plan may be best suited to your unique needs, try our Find A Plan feature. This short quesionnaire (5 min) will give you a better idea of your options and then someone from our office will follow up to help customize a plan just for you.
Benefits [ben-uh-fits]
as defined by Vital Partners
A collection of tangible and intangible perks offered to employees and/or owners. Examples include Health, Dental, Disability, Life, Critical Illness and Wellness benefits.
Insurance [inˈSHo͝orəns]
as defined by Vital Partners
Insurance is a contract which provides compensation for a specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a premium. Insurance can be purchased to hedge against financial losses and with specific goals in mind for individuals, families, or businesses.
Insurance [inˈSHo͝orəns]
as defined by Vital Partners
Insurance is a contract which provides compensation for a specified loss, damage, illness, or death in return for payment of a premium. Insurance can be purchased to hedge against financial losses and with specific goals in mind for individuals, families, or businesses.
The company that provides the insurance product such as: Sun Life, Great West Life, Equitable Life, Encon, etc.
Vital Partners works with most major insurers in Canada.
Group Benefits plans can vary based on an organization's budget, benefits philosophy, industry, and size.
A typical plan includes Life and Disability Insurance, Dental, and Extended Health coverage (including prescription drugs, massage and travel).
Other benefits may include wellness, fitness, or health spending accounts, which can be added according to your budget.
Group benefits are purchased by companies with 2 or more employees to benefit the “group” of employees. There are several advantages to group plans:
no medical questions required
tax effective
generally lower premiums
attraction and retention of employees
Individual insurance plans are generally purchased by people who do not have a group benefits plan or wish to 'top-up' group coverage. Individual benefits plans offer:
budgeting assistance through regular monthly premiums
protection (insurance) for unexpected events such as accidental dental, ambulance, or private duty nursing, for example
protection against changes in your health that may make it difficult to obtain coverage in the future
Benefits administration is an important role. The plan administrator serves as the main contact between employees and the insurance company.
Here are a few of the responsibilities of a plan administrator: managing enrolments, additions, and terminations; updating salaries; handling monthly billing; and communication with employees.
Vital Partners' by-your-side service model sets plan administrators up for success.
In our industry, we use the term marketing to refer to sourcing of products and pricing.
Vital Partners actively sources the most appropriate and cost-effective suppliers for each individual client.
An unexpected health problem can affect many areas of your life. For many people, insurance can help replace lost income, provide an immediate cash injection in the event of a loss, and mean the difference between surviving and thriving.
Insurance solutions may include:
critical illness insurance
life insurance
disability insurance
An employee enroled in a group benefits program.
Wellness plans are taxable, which makes them extremely flexible. A company determines what types of expenses to cover based on their unique objectives.
Wellness accounts can help an organization articulate its values and culture in a way that engages their work force.
Employers can be very creative with the list of expenses. Eligible claims may include anything from health or fitness club memberships, sports registration fees, public transportation, music lessons, computers, to pet expenses.
For more information about how to add a wellness account to your organization's benefits plan, please visit our Health Spending Account page.
Absolutely. We've designed the FAQ and each section of the site to focus on your questions. If you've gone through all of that and still have unanswered questions, please feel free to email us or give us a call.
There are several reasons to offer an employee benefits plan:
Attraction and retention - organizations of all kinds compete for talent. Building the right team and then keeping them engaged sets you up for success.
Tax-effective compensation - instead of employees purchasing their own individual health and dental plans with after-tax money, most elements of a benefits plan are received tax-free. At the same time, it's a tax-deduction for your organization.
Protection for employees - life happens, and when illness, injury, or day-to-day wellness expenses arise, employees can face financial and emotional hardship. Having the right plan in place can build resilience for employees who are dealing with life's challenges.
Creating a culture of caring - when employees understand that their employer supports them, their commitment helps your business thrive.
We can offer benefits for companies with as few as two employees.
No, but you must offer the same benefits to all employees within the same “class or designation.” For example, you may have an “employee class” or an “executive class.”
Whether all employees receive the same benefits forms a part of every organization's benefits philosophy.
Insurers calculate benefit premiums based on a number of different factors such as employee demographics, age, gender, industry, utilization of benefits, etc.
If you don’t understand why your benefit premiums are changing, please contact us. Our proprietary renewal process includes reporting, independent renewal analysis, and negotiation with the insurer.
Yes! There are funding options for benefits that help you reduce your plan expenses. There are a number of tools that we can use to limit the amount of money that the insurer makes. That reduces premiums for you and keeps more money in your pockets and those of those employees.
Your benefits form part of your values statement, part of employees' total compensation, and your brand.
Your organization's investment in benefits must be translated to employees in a way that creates value for them and their families. We help you do this in a number of ways:
easy-to-use branded benefits summaries for employees and their families
employee education sessions to review benefits in detail, explain how employees can become active benefit plan consumers
our high-touch service model ensures that employees have access to help to help when they need it
You might want to Request a Plan Review. Ahead of that, here are some general questions and answers:
Can you get more bang for your buck? Typically, yes. By doing an analysis of the plan, we can look at your current coverage and what employees are spending (ie: claims history) and determine if the rates are fair. We will also discuss your goals and objectives to make sure that your current plan aligns with what you want to accomplish. If there is a chance that you could be doing better, shouldn’t you find out?
Can this be easier? Yes! When you have the right plan design, the right insurer, the most efficient funding model, and an advisory firm that sticks with you through thick and thin, your benefits can feel like part of the family.
Can we get more support from our benefits advisory firm? Does your advisory firm help you communicate and manage your benefits. To be a sounding board, to lend a hand when you need it.
Yes, we conduct training and educational sessions for each of our client companies. We cover everything they need to know to get the most from their plan including: what their benefits include, how to save money, make a claim, onboarding, addressing the concerns of various age groups, etc.
Every organization's contract with the insurer describes the eligibility requirements for your plan.
Often, the insurer stipulates that all eligible employees as defined as working a certain number of hours per week must be included on the plan. Sometimes the contract stipulates that a given percentage of employees are included on the plan.
Let us help you understand the contract that you have with your insurance carrier to ensure that you fulfilling your obligations.
These are issues that many employers face every day. Vital Partners is one of the few brokerages that encourages direct calls with plan members. We can usually solve your problem within a matter of minutes.
We also train your plan adminstrator so that they have the information they need to keep employees happy and healthy.
Are you getting the service that you're already paying for?
Almost every organization, unless it is very, very large, is supposed to be represented by someone, i.e. a broker or firm that is supposed to be on their side, providing updates, and delivering service when required.
Sad but true, some advisors disappear into the woodwork after they sell a plan. But they are still be compensated to deal with your benefits.
At Vital Partners, our commitment to partnering with clients is in our name.
All of our recommendations are designed for cost and time efficiencies and to help you deliver value for money to your employees.
Our on-your-side and by-your-side service model is our promise to you as long as we manage your plans.
There is definitely a lot of terminology in the benefits world. Incurred but not reported, target loss ratio, experience, credibility, and pooling limits can be difficult to understand.
We simplify and clarify so that you can understand the cost drivers behind your plan, usage patterns, and how plan design can be tweaked to ensure that you are funding your program in the most efficient way possible.
Check out our Glossary too!
They certainly can be. We can work with any budget to deliver cost-effective solutions for your team.
The benefits world is constantly changing and we stay on top of trends to make sure that we are delivering the best possible solutions.
Check out our Newsletters for the latest information.
Benefits benchmarking based on your industry, company size, or postal code can be a helpful tool in understanding whether you are offering a plan that is aligned with your philosophy or company strategy.
We can help with an employee survey. We have found that when a third party collects and analyzes the data, only reporting aggregate responses, you can be assured that responses are more reflective of attitudes toward your benefit plan.
That all depends on which benefits you're offering but generally, you can adjust to suit your needs, budget and your employees.
We would be pleased to give you an honest review of your existing plan. Please complete the Plan Review form and we will let you know if and where you can find cost-efficiencies.
Let us help you find out by Requesting A Plan Review - by completing this form we can cross-compare all available benefit plan options that are suitable for your company and see how your current plan stacks up.
We recommend the Gig Plan powered by GroupBenefitz. Your team -- of any size -- can choose between levels of coverage that work for them and fit their budget.
Wellness accounts can be included in your benefit plan.
Why not? It doesn’t cost anything to set up, and there are no ongoing fees. Having a plan in place gives you flexibility.
If your team is not accessing your insured benefit plan, you could consider using a health spending account instead of an insured program.
That means that you only pay for what people use. Sometimes if your team has low needs for traditional benefits, a health spending account can be a very cost-effective way of allowing people to access what they need while not spending money on benefits they don’t.
We have a conviniently located, green login button for our myHSA members on the top right corner of our website header. This is the easiest way to access the myHSA login page. Alternatively, this link will direct you there as well.
We offer a travel and catastrophic insurance program and can certainly add that to your account.
Yes.
Any expenses approved by the Canadian Revenue Agency.
For an allowable list go to xxx.
**Wellness expenses?
Generally, group benefits cannot be replicated on an individual basis, however there are several insurers who offer individual plans like GreenShield, Alberta Blue Cross, Sun Life, Great West Life, Manulife.
We determine your best options by understanding your goals and objectives and what you have previously claimed.
Visit our Find a Plan page to review some options that might work for you.
Self-employed individuals (operating as sole proprietors or corporations) should consider using a health spending account, an individual health and dental plan, or both.
Please visit our Health Spending Account page for more information about how Health Spending Accounts work to save you money.