Author Archives: Karen Taylor Smith
Selling Benefits Plans to Family Health Teams
This is the last in our blog series about effectively selling benefits plans to healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals have specific needs for their healthcare plans – needs that conventional off-the-shelf plans typically cannot meet. There is a great opportunity for benefits plan advisors to offer customized plans to this largely (…) [Read Full Article]
Introducing the Veterinarian SelectFlex Benefits Plan
This is our fourth blog post in our on-going series about selling to healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals have specific needs for their healthcare plans – needs that conventional off-the-shelf plans typically cannot meet. There is a great opportunity for benefits plan advisors to offer customized plans to this largely untapped (…) [Read Full Article]
Selling Benefits Plans to Pharmacists and Paramedical Practitioners
This is our third blog post in our on-going series about selling to healthcare professionals. Healthcare professionals have specific needs for their healthcare plans – needs that conventional off-the-shelf plans typically cannot meet. There is a great opportunity for benefits plan advisors to offer customized plans to this largely untapped (…) [Read Full Article]
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Group Benefits Taxation
Which taxes apply to ASO group benefits plans in Ontario? Premium Tax = 2.0% Provincial Insurance Tax = 8.0% HST = 13.0% Premium Tax on ASO Benefits Plans Premium tax is determined for each employee based on that employee’s province of residence. Premium tax on insurance products (Life Insurance, AD&D, (…) [Read Full Article]
Want to Retain Your Best Employees?
The right compensation can be the key to retaining your best employees and attracting talented newcomers. Small business owners can maximize the value of their compensation with smart spending on employee benefits. A recent article from MarketWatch, a Wall Street Journal publication, advises that “the right menu of benefits can (…) [Read Full Article]
Get a Comprehensive Health Assessment through Your Benefits Plan
A recent article from Benefits Canada discusses the importance of a regular comprehensive health assessment (CHA). A CHA involves 12-15 diagnostic tests necessary to assess the state of your health for the next year. CHAs can be crucial for spotting health problems early. The author points out research showing that (…) [Read Full Article]
The 3 Types of Healthcare Spending Account
A healthcare spending account (HCSA or HSA) is a practical and effective benefits plan option that can serve as an alternative to, or an addition to, a conventional group health and dental plan. A plan design that includes HCSAs allows the employer to set a fixed budget for available benefits, (…) [Read Full Article]
Seasonal Employees: Yes You Can Give Them Benefits
Many businesses are wholly dependent on the season – golf courses, ski resorts, hotels, and so on. These places are extremely busy during certain times of the year, but nearly empty during the off-season. They need to hire a large number of full-time, seasonal employees for their busy time of (…) [Read Full Article]
Aligning Your Benefits Plan with Your Compensation Philosophy
Does your employee benefits plan match up to your corporate compensation philosophy? It should. Your corporate compensation philosophy is a strategic decision about how to position your business in the marketplace. Whether it is documented or a matter of internal practice, your compensation philosophy shapes how employees perceive your business (…) [Read Full Article]
Phasing in Employee Benefits by Seniority
When most people think about differentiating benefits for groups of employees, they assume the groups are separated by role. An example would be a benefits plan that provides executives with different benefits than customer service representatives (CSR) in small and mid-sized companies. This is certainly one way that groups or (…) [Read Full Article]
