There are many reasons to invest in a benefits plan for your employees with Riverview Insurance Solutions. Chief among them, are the fact that they help you attract and retain good people, increase morale, maintain productivity, keep your employees healthy all while providing tax-efficient compensation.

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As an employer, you believe you need to offer benefits to attract and retain quality staff:

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1. Why is being part of program good for you and your employees?

2. What benefits are available?

3. How does the pricing work?

4. How can you get started or audit your existing program?

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Why is being part of a program good for you and your employees?

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There are three main reasons why a benefits plan is good for your employees.

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1. Access – your employees cannot generally get a comprehensive plan on their own at the same cost as group plan.

2. Insurability – group coverage guarantees insurability for everyone – there are no medical questions or disclosures.

3. Tax Efficiency – the premium an employer pays for extended health and dental benefits is not a taxable benefit to employees – it is non-cash compensation.  Without a plan, an individual will need $200 of gross earnings to get $120 of after-tax spending power, but with a benefit plan the expense is often covered entirely.

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However, the main reason why a benefits plan is good for the employer is retention. It’s difficult and expensive to find and train new employees. It’s far better to have loyal people that are committed to coming to work. To get that, employers need to offer more than a competitive salary.

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What benefits are available?

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Benefits go beyond the standard health and dental most employees expect from their employer. Complete packages can be structured to make the company attractive and competitive in the marketplace by leveraging:

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• Life Insurance: A tax-free lump sum to the beneficiaries of the policy holder upon his or her death.  Many of your employees may not own separate insurance and this benefit is unfortunately all a family might receive.

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• Accidental Death & Dismemberment: provides funds to help the beneficiaries of the policy holder if the death is accidental (often combined with and pays out in addition to life insurance).  Also provides funds to the insured if he or she is dismembered, such as the loss of limbs or vision.

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• Dependent Life Insurance: A lump sum provided to your employee if they lose a spouse or child.  This sum helps to ease the financial burden of final expenses and allow the employee to take off work to deal with things during this difficult time.

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• Long-term Disability: income replacement when an employee becomes sick or injured and can no longer work.  For example, it could take several years to recover from an accident or head trauma – and in some cases, a full recovery is not possible. Long-term disability payments replace a portion of the employee’s income when their disability prevents them from returning to work.

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• Critical Illness Insurance: A lump sum paid to the employee if they are diagnosed with a covered critical illness. The sum can be used in any way your employee sees fit – ultimately, it provides cash for the family when its needed most.  About 80 per cent of critical illness claims are for cancer, stroke and heart attacks.

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• Dental: Dental care in Canada is expensive. The only government coverage for dental care is for emergency treatment stemming from an accident – and even then, the focus is not cosmetic, so the individual is left to manage the additional expenses. Therefore, dental benefits are hugely sought after by employees.

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• Extended Health and Travel:  This covers prescription drugs, medical supplies, paramedical practitioners (chiropractors, physiotherapists, psychologists, naturopaths, massage therapy, etc), out of province travel insurance, medical supplies and more.

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• Employee Assistance Program: Not all ailments are physical. When it comes to mental health issues, addiction recovery, work stress, and emotional wellbeing, therapy is a great option. The Employee Assistance Program is a benefit that gives employees discreet short-term access to counselling. If additional therapy is needed after the sessions, the councillor can help to arrange longer-term care.

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• Virtual Healthcare options: in a time where our healthcare system is pressured to its limit with excessive wait times and access to care being minimal or non existent, this benefit is an option that could  provide your employees with a valuable option to getting the care they deserve in a timely, easy to use method – their phone.

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• Flex Dollars/Health Spending Accounts: Chances are that one employee will require sports massage while another needs dental benefits more. Flex dollars allow your employees to allocate funds to the benefits they need the most. It removes the one-size-fits-all benefit plan and really gives your employees the customization they need.

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• WI (Weekly Indemnity)/Short Term Disability (STD): WI, or STD, benefits provide a weekly short-term payout to help replace income when the employee cannot work due to a short-term disability.  This benefit is more commonly added for higher earning employees as Canadians already pay for short-term disability through their EI contributions, if you offer STD you are eligible for a reduced company EI rate.