Trends, benefits fraud and drug coverage led the top health and benefits stories in 2018. Benefits Canada rounds up the industry’s favourite health and benefits stories of the year: 1. Seven benefits trends to watch in 2018 2. Ontario unveils new drug, dental coverage for people without workplace benefits 3. TTC fraud update: More than 220 employees fired or have resigned, retired […]
As 2018 draws to a close, and the benefits and pension industry looks ahead, what’s next for the year’s biggest topics? Stephen Frank, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, is expecting a shift from Canadian and global regulators in the way they govern how customers are treated: an […]
While advisors are supportive of greater transparency in group benefits and retirement services, some say the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s proposed amendments to its compensation disclosure guideline last week still presents a conflict of interest. The suggested changes to G19 included requiring the disclosure of both the percentage and dollar value of direct compensation […]
After consulting with more than 500 advisors, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association is making a number of changes to its G19 guideline pertaining to compensation disclosure in group benefits and group retirement services. The proposed guideline, which was introduced nearly a year ago, would require insurers to disclose to plan sponsors the compensation paid to intermediaries for […]
Two-thirds (67 per cent) of group insurance brokers said their client base would decrease if employer-paid benefits became taxable income, according to a survey by the Canadian Group Insurance Brokers and Digital Journal Group. In February 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Parliament his government wasn’t planning to tax employee health and dental plans. However, the […]
The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s compensation disclosure guideline doesn’t adequately provide for transparency, according to a letter submitted by the Benefits Alliance Group Inc. “The quasi regulatory role assumed by such a powerful trade association is littered with serious conflicts of interest,” the letter read. It noted these’s an imbalance between the natural goals […]
While the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association generally supports the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities’ proposed guideline on defined contribution pension plans, certain areas require further clarification. “We recognize that some service providers may require substantial lead time to enhance administrative systems to incorporate functionality, such as capturing and reporting indirect fees, that may not currently exist,” […]
Between 2012 and 2016, Canada’s total private drug claims market increased by a 4.7 per cent compound annual growth rate, according to new research by Innovative Medicines Canada. The analysis, which is based on IQVIA Inc.’s Canadian private drug plan claims database, aims to highlight the key drivers of private drug plan cost growth for the period. “Often the […]
Pharmacare and flexible annuity options top the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association’s list of recommendations for the upcoming 2019 federal budget. In its submission, the association stated it’s supportive of the work being done through the federal government’s advisory council on the implementation of pharmacare, introduced in last year’s budget. However, it also said it’s important to […]
The job of a pension consultant has evolved considerably over Bita Jenab’s 30-year career in the field. The mid-1990s saw a greater focus on governance and the arrival of the investment consultant, while the 2000s featured a mass move to defined contribution plans and significant changes to pension legislation. Through all of that, plan sponsors […]