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  1. New segregated fund sales charge option from Equitable Life of Canada
    On December 7, 2020 Equitable Life® will add a new No Load CB5 (NL-CB5) sales option with a 60-month chargeback schedule to the Pivotal Select™ segregated funds lineup. This new sales charge option complements the recently launched No Load CB (NL-CB) option which has a 36-month chargeback schedule.

    This new sales option for Pivotal Select gives you and your clients five sales charge options to choose from: Low Load (LL), No Load (NL), No Load CB (NL-CB), No Load CB5 (NL-CB5) and Deferred Sales Charge (DSC). The addition of NL-CB5 provides an option for those advisors who want to increase the upfront portion of their commission. The benefit to clients is no Deferred Sales Charge to contend with.  If your client chooses to withdraw funds within 5 years after purchase, there is a chargeback of commission to you.

    By offering five sales charge options, the choice between three distinct guarantee classes (Investment Class (75/75), Estate Class (75/100) and Protection Class (100/100)), and a diverse selection of investment funds, the Pivotal Select contract provides the flexibility to build an investment solution that meets the needs of your clients.

    Need to meet with your client online? Our EZcomplete® application makes it easy to process your non-face-to-face applications and do business with Equitable Life. EZcomplete gives you the option to conduct your non face-to-face business easily and quickly, enabling your clients to provide their signature remotely on their own device.

    For more information about Equitable’s NL-CB5 or any of Equitable’s products, contact your local Regional Investment Sales Manager or our Advisor Services team at 1.866.881.7427 Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET or email savingsretirement@equitable.ca.
     

    To learn more, click here. 

  2. Equitable Life webcast series presents Mackenzie Investments featuring Arup Datta


    Arup will discuss Equitable Life® Mackenzie Emerging Markets Fund Select along with the fund's people, philosophy, process and performance. 

    Join your host, Cam Crosbie, Vice President, Savings and Retirement, and Arup Datta, MBA, CFA, Senior Vice President, Head of the Global Quantitative Equity Team for Mackenzie Investments.

     

    Learn More


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    Equitable Life continues to spotlight various aspects of our competitive fund lineup and product offerings. This series gives advisors an opportunity to: 
    •  learn more about products and product features, 
    •  hear from industry professionals, 
    •  learn about investment strategies; and so much more. 


    Continuing Education Credits
    This webinar has been submitted for continuing education (CE) approval with the Insurance Council of Manitoba and Alberta Insurance Council for all provinces excluding Quebec. Upon approval, you will be sent an email notification to come back to the webinar presentation console to download your personalized certificate from the tool bar. To be eligible for CE credits, you must register individually, watch the webcast in full and complete a short quiz. This webcast is available in English only.

    ® denote a registered trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada
  3. Equitable Life Coronavirus Update – March 13, 2020

    As the coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, it’s important that you, your clients and their plan members have the most up-to-date information. We are providing timely updates on any developments that impact your clients and their plan members or their benefits coverage.

    Please share this information with your clients. You can direct them to EquitableHealth.ca, where we have posted a version of these updates.

    Coronavirus travel coverage*

    For groups with Travel Assist coverage

    The Public Health Agency of Canada has issued several Travel Health Notices advising Canadians to avoid travel to countries and regions where there have been outbreaks of coronavirus (COVID-19).

    A good resource to help your clients and their plan members understand how the spread of the coronavirus may impact their travel plans is the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Coronavirus Travel Advice site. The levels of risk by country and region are regularly updated.

    If your clients’ plan members cannot avoid travelling, Public Health recommends they take steps to prevent illness and seek medical attention if they become sick.

    Where to find the latest information

    The list and level of travel advisories can change at any time. Please check the Government of Canada’s Travel Advisor and Advisory page for the most current information.

    If your clients’ plan members have coronavirus symptoms while travelling, please advise them to contact Travel Assist at the numbers listed below for assistance.

    Advise plan members to call before they travel

    If a plan member is travelling anywhere outside of the province or country and their benefits plan includes Travel Assist, plan administrators should advise them to make sure they’re prepared for a medical emergency by following these steps.

    1. Check the Government of Canada’s Travel Advisor and Advisory page. Note that it is important to click on the country to check whether any specific regions of that country have travel advisories.
    2. If they have questions, they should call Travel Assist before they travel for assistance and benefit information.
    3. Pack their Equitable Life benefits card and provincial health card.
    4. In a medical emergency, call the Travel Assist 24-Hour Hotline:
    • Toll-free Canada/USA: 1.800.321/9998
    • Global call collect: 519.742.3287
    • Allianz Global Assistance ID #9089

    Allianz Global Assistance administers Equitable Life’s Travel Assist benefits. Allianz has an international network of medical facilities, transportation providers, medical correspondents and multilingual administrative agents who aid with medical, legal and most travel-related emergencies 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

    Early prescription refills and drug shortages*

    In response to concerns about COVID-19 TELUS Health, our pharmacy benefits manager, has announced it is maintaining its standard rules for refills of medication. Plan members can refill their medications when at least two-thirds of the last dispensed supply has been used.

    If plan members need more than the maximum supply allowed on their plan, they must pay out-of-pocket for the excess amount. They can then submit a claim to ask for an exception request.

    TELUS is taking this position to help maintain access to medication for all patients. They continue to monitor the situation. We will provide an update if it changes.

    Drug shortages

    TELUS Health monitors for drug shortages and updates their system for any unavailable drugs. This helps to ensure accurate claims payment. If a referenced lowest-cost generic drug is unavailable, claims for drugs in the class will be paid at the next lowest-cost generic alternative available.

    *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients

  4. Claims payments and notifications will go fully digital on July 1, 2023 We are committed to providing a better benefits experience. We have secure and convenient digital options to make it easier for plan members to access and use their benefits plan, including EquitableHealth.ca and the EZClaim Mobile app.

    Most plan members are already using these tools to set up email claim notifications and direct deposit. They get their claim updates faster and their claims paid more quickly, right into their bank account.

    To help ensure that all plan members benefit from faster claim payments and notifications, we are making these services fully digital as of July 1, 2023. That means, in most cases, we will no longer mail paper claim cheques or explanation of benefits (EOB) notifications.**

    Plan members who haven’t already activated direct deposit and email notifications will need to activate these services via their plan member account on EquitableHealth.ca. 

    How we’ll help plan members get set up

    Fortunately, it’s simple for plan members to set up these features. And it only takes a few minutes. To make it even easier, we’ve created a Plan Member Guide to Getting Started Online. It includes simple instructions to help plan members use our digital features and get the most from their benefits plan. 

    We have also created a toolkit that plan administrators can email to their plan members to walk them through the simple steps. Access the toolkit here.

    And we’re available to guide plan members who may need help. They can call us at 1.800.265.4556 and select “Plan Member Web Support”. Our Client Care Centre Team is happy to help them activate these services. 

    How we’ll communicate with plan members

    We will start communicating this change to plan members in April. For plan members who aren’t taking advantage of these convenient features, we will send them an email to let them know about the change, with instructions and support on getting set up.

    We will also include an insert with all mailings of paper cheques and EOB notifications sent out. And we will post an announcement and banner on EquitableHealth.ca to let plan members know about the change.
     

    How we’ll support plan members who need extra help or accommodations

    After July 1, 2023, we will follow up with plan members who have not yet activated direct deposit or email notifications for their claims and provide any extra help and support they may need. And, of course, we’ll make exceptions for plan members who aren’t willing or reasonably able to use these features. 

    Questions?

    If you have any questions, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

    ** Disability claimants will continue to receive paper Explanation of Benefits notifications in the mail. Some pay-direct drug claims will also continue to be paid by cheque.
  5. [pdf] B2B Investment Loan Product Brochure
  6. [pdf] Daily/Guaranteed Interest Account Advisor Guide
  7. Insights from a pandemic: COVID-19 and group benefits plans

    We’ve received numerous questions about the impact of COVID-19 and what it will mean for benefits plans in the months ahead. Below is a summary of what we’re seeing so far. In the coming weeks, we’ll explore each of these topics in greater depth.

    Disability

    Initially, as COVID-19 started to spread, we saw STD claims ramp up quickly. Since then, we’ve seen the number of COVID-19-related STD claims slow significantly. As for LTD, we believe both the incidence and duration of those claims will increase in both the short term and medium term due to COVID-19.

    Health and Dental Claims

    We saw an overall spike in the volume and paid amounts for drug claims in March as plan members rushed to stock up on their medications. This was followed by a drop in April after most provinces put 30-day refill limits in place. One exception was claims for asthma drugs which surged in March but had no drop in April. Overall, the April plunge will be short-lived; drug costs have already begun to rise in May.

    While paramedical and dental claims are down, we are seeing an increase in claims for virtual treatments and emergency dental services. We expect that claims will spike once the current pandemic restrictions are lifted. We’ve already started to see claims rise in provinces that are allowing health providers to re-open.

    Despite the shift to more virtual services, we haven’t seen an increase in fraudulent activity. But we continue to be vigilant. Our investigative practices – verifying with the plan member that they received the treatment and have a valid receipt, and that the practitioner has treatment notes – remain the same whether treatment is provided in person or virtually.

    Technology

    During this time of physical distancing, people are looking for ways to interact with their providers virtually. Fortunately, our business model is almost entirely electronic, and we have several convenient digital options available for plan members and plan sponsors. Our focus in recent weeks has been to remind clients and plan members about these tools and make it as easy as possible for them to activate and use them. And we are continually adding functionality that will allow us to serve our customers even better.

    Mental Health/Wellness

    Usage of i-Volve, Homewood’s online cognitive behavioural therapy tool, increased significantly in March before levelling back down in April and May. And while EFAP cases fell in April and early-May, the number of cases has begun to climb in recent weeks, particularly for anxiety. In the coming weeks and months, we expect an eventual increase in marital and family issues, as well as depression. We’ve also seen an increase in mental-health-related prescriptions.

    Plan Design

    It’s too early to predict how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact benefits plan design and how it will change in the coming months. We would love to get your feedback and insights about how benefit plans will evolve and what new features or provisions they should include.

    Please share your thoughts and suggestions with your Group Account Executive or myFlex Marketing Manager. Or, you can email your ideas to GroupCommunications@equitable.ca.

  8. Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin - July 2021

    In this issue:

    *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients
     

    Fabien Jeudy takes over as President and CEO*

    In March, we announced that Fabien Jeudy was appointed as Equitable Life’s next President and CEO. Jeudy officially took over on July 5th, succeeding Ronald Beettam, who is retiring after 16 years with the company.

    Jeudy is a collaborative leader with more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, leading actuarial, finance, risk management, distribution, marketing teams and operational teams in the Life & Health Insurance, Wealth Management and Group Benefits markets in Canada, the US, and Asia.

    Reminder: Equitable Life’s Guide to Accessing Virtual Healthcare*

    The demand for virtual healthcare services has increased as the pandemic is driving more people to access their health care providers from home.
     
    Thankfully, many virtual healthcare services are available for free to Canadians with provincial health care coverage. We have created a Guide to Accessing Virtual Healthcare for plan members to easily access a variety of virtual healthcare services. Our guide includes information and links to both free and paid virtual medical care options, including video appointments, health advice over the phone, emergency dental services, and more.
     
    You can find the guide on our website. It’s also available on our plan member website at EquitableHealth.ca.

    Mental health resources for plan members*

    Many Canadians have been experiencing increased levels of stress, anxiety, and depression since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through our partnership with Homewood Health®, all of our clients and their plan members have access to a number of health and wellness resources designed to provide guidance and support.
     
    Homewood’s Online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy tool, i-Volve, can help plan members identify, challenge and overcome anxious thoughts, behaviours and emotions. Learn more about Online CBT or access i-Volve at Homeweb.ca/Equitable.
     
    As well, Homewood has a number of resources available to help support plan members dealing with increased anxiety during these uncertain times: Please encourage your clients to share these resources with their plan members. They are also available on our plan member website at EquitableHealth.ca.

    Recall of Philips CPAP machines*

    Last month, electronics company, Philips, issued a recall with Health Canada of some of its Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), BiLevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiLevel PAP) devices and Mechanical Ventilators. The recall was issued due to a foam abatement within the machines that can become loose and cause potential health risks.

    To qualify for repair or replacement of these devices, users must register their machine on the Philips website. 
     
    CPAP, BiLevel PAP devices and Mechanical Ventilators are eligible for coverage under an HCSA and under some Extended Health Care plans. Plan administrators may want to inform plan members of this recall if the devices are eligible for coverage under their plan. 
     
  9. Make Equitable your first choice for insurance – has just been enhanced! Our popular marketing piece – Make Equitable® your first choice for insurance (1510) – just got an update with the latest life insurance offerings and our new branding.

    It is a great conversation starter that can help…
    ● Encourage clients to discover the benefits of our insurance solutions.
    ● Start the life insurance needs conversation.
    ● Help clients understand the Equitable ‘difference’ – that our full focus is on the interests and well-being of our policyholders.

    Learn more by visiting our marketing materials page.

    Questions?
    Please contact your local wholesaler.


     
    ® or ™ denotes a trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
     
  10. [pdf] EquiLiving Product Summary (Adults)