Our team of benefits specialists has the experience and qualifications you expect. With experience in the insurance industry, our senior team members have developed an in-depth understanding of corporate benefits plan design, health and welfare plans, underwriting concepts, and cost-saving approaches.
Benefits as Unique as You Are
Simply put, your benefits should be as unique as your business. Therefore, you need the specialized expertise we can deliver. We work effectively as an extension of your human resources department. Unlike a generic, off-the-shelf plan, your benefits program is designed with your objectives in mind.
What Group Benefits Services Do We Provide?
• Monitoring and communication of industry trends
• Benefits plan assessment, design, and monitoring
• Plan renewal
• Brokering your plan
• Managed healthcare initiatives
Communication of Industry Trends
With the changing face of the insurance marketplace, it’s reassuring to have our firm on your side. We work hard to keep you informed of all the latest trends and products, both domestic and international. We communicate with you in a variety of ways:
• Client relationships—open communication with our team
• The Informer—bimonthly information bulletin
• Client seminars—scheduled periodically throughout the year
Benefits Plan
Strategic Planning for Benefits
We discuss and analyze key factors that may affect your benefit planning.
Your Custom-Designed Plan
We create custom benefits plans (traditional, flexible benefit designs, or healthcare spending accounts) based not only on our consultation with you but also on the latest industry products that best meet your needs.
Employee Communication
We help you develop employee handouts and other communications materials.
Monitoring Your Plan
We monitor your benefits program, actively making recommendations, so it continues to serve the needs of your business and reflects the latest industry trends.
Monitoring Your Claims Experience
Each quarter, we complete an assessment of your claims to give you an accurate picture of how your benefits plan is being used by plan members, so there are no financial surprises for you, the plan sponsor.
Saving You Money
As with all of our services, when it comes to ways to save you money, we give you options, including the most up-to-date and innovative solutions available internationally—before they become commonplace.
Plan Renewal
Annual Plan Review
At least once a year, we analyze the financial arrangements for your benefits plan. We assess the competitiveness of your current benefits arrangement to help you take advantage of the latest domestic and international developments.
Negotiations with Insurers
Our in-depth knowledge of the providers and their approaches to underwriting allows us to negotiate the best possible arrangements for you. In addition, you benefit from the negotiating leverage that we have built through our more than 100 clients.
Brokering Your Plan
We broker your plan to a large selection of providers, ensuring that your current arrangements are the very best the industry has to offer you. The advantage for you comes in the higher number of responses our tendering receives—you gain more choice.
Preparation
We have the technical expertise necessary to ensure quoting carriers are aware of the complexities of your plan. The resulting proposals are more competitive—and more useful. We
• Analyze carrier proposals
• Develop a report to make it easier for you to make an informed decision about your provider
• Help you schedule presentations by the leading quoting carriers—personal contact between you and the provider is critical to a good working relationship
Pension Administration
We have assembled an impressive team of pension professionals with over 100 years’ combined experience in the pension benefits field.
Proactive Defined Benefit Pension Administration Services
Qualified experts meet your special pension administration needs
We offer a wide range of services and solutions, including
• Providing support in the development and implementation of pension program objectives and design
• Preparing pension plan texts and amendments stemming from changes in plan rules and government regulations
• Responding quickly to your questions and concerns
• Maintaining employee records using the latest CPAS/db pension administration system technology
• Processing benefits on termination, death, or retirement
• Preparing annual member statements, member benefits summaries, and government compliance reportsPension Adjustments (PAs) and Pension Adjustment Reversals (PARs)
Our on-site actuarial team will meet the technical demands of your plan in a professional, cost-effective manner. Our clients have convenient access to the following actuarial services to develop and present effective employee communications material, review and update your investment policy statements and trust agreements; monitor and report on the relative performance of your fund investments; and provide plan wind-ups and conversions to money purchase plans.
Comprehensive Actuarial Services
• Funding and solvency valuations
• Legislative and Canadian Institute of Actuaries compliance
• Plan design liability and service cost review to support benefits upgrades or labour negotiation sessions
• Pension valuation and expense calculations
• Cash flow projections and asset/liability matching
• Marriage breakdown valuations
• Plan wind-up and conversion valuations