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  1. [pdf] Customizing Your Defaults
  2. Policy endorsement: Long Term Disability pre-existing condition period

    We are updating our contracts to clarify how we handle the Long Term Disability (LTD) pre-existing condition period for employees returning from maternity or paternity leave.

    A new LTD pre-existing condition period will no longer apply when an employee re-enrols in the benefits plan after their maternity or paternity leave ends, provided that they return to work on the date agreed upon with their employer, or in the time period allowed by the Employment Insurance Act, whichever is earlier.

    To facilitate this change, we are amending some of the wording in our contracts and booklets, effective March 1, 2020. Below are links to the Endorsement to the Master Policy and the Summary of Master Booklet Wording Changes for this amendment. Please download and save these policy endorsement documents for your files.

    In addition, please remind your clients to provide all of their plan members with a copy of the Summary of Master Booklet Wording Changes.

    The next time your clients amend their benefits plan, the updated wording will be included in their group benefits plan booklets.

    Download Endorsement to the Master Policy
    Download Summary of Master Booklet Wording Changes

  3. RRIF minimum withdrawal changes in response to COVID-19
    Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and retirees concerned about withdrawing from their portfolios during the market sell-off, the federal government recently announced a 25% reduction in the minimum withdrawal rate for Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) for 2020. This reduction only applies to funds that have not yet been withdrawn.  

    If your client chooses to leave the payment at the current minimum payment for the 2020 calendar year, no further action is required.

    If your client has already received the unreduced payment for the year, your client cannot return the excess amount.

    If your client would like to reduce the minimum, you can contact our Advisor Services Team at 1.866.884.7427, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET or email savingsretirement@equitable.ca to advise us of the change. Taxes will not be withheld on the payment.
     
  4. Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin - September 2020

    In this issue:

    Enhancements to Equitable EZClaim Mobile
    New reports available on EquitableHealth.ca

    * Indicates content that will be shared with your clients.

    Enhancements to Equitable EZClaim® Mobile*

    We’ve updated our Equitable EZClaim mobile app to process vision claims faster, to provide a new option for submitting documents and to increase password security.

    Faster vision claims processing and payment

    Equitable Life now provides faster processing of vision claims submitted via EZClaim Mobile.

    This means plan members can find out the status of their vision claim almost instantaneously. And, for approved claims, they will receive payment even sooner – often in as little as 24 hours.

    In order to allow for instant processing and faster payment, plan members will be prompted to enter some additional information, including their practitioner’s name, the date of the expense, the type of expense and amount of the expense when submitting their claims for these services.

    Equitable Life plan members can submit all vision claims via Equitable EZClaim, including coordination of benefits and Health Care Spending Account claims.

    Submit documents from a mobile device

    We have added our Document Submission tool to EZClaim Mobile so plan members can conveniently submit documents directly from their mobile device. Applications, change forms, statement of health forms and more can all be easily uploaded whenever and wherever they are.

    Improved security with stronger passwords

    To help you, your clients and plan members better protect personal information, we have increased the maximum length of passwords for both EZClaim Online and EZClaim Mobile from 12 to 32 characters. This longer character limit makes it easier to create stronger and more secure passwords.

    There is no change for plan members, plan administrators or advisors. All existing passwords will continue to function. However, if you choose to update your password you will now be able to choose longer passwords or passphrases.

    Why should I change my password?

    Changing your password frequently helps keep your information safe. The longer and more random the password, the more secure it is. To improve security even more, a passphrase is recommended.

    A passphrase is a series of words or other text used like a password. Because it is much longer, a passphrase is more secure. Although the words in the phrase may be meaningful to you and easy to remember, they can be random enough that the full phrase is difficult for someone else to guess. It’s even better if you use numbers or other characters in your passphrase.

    Your passphrase should be:

    • Long enough to be hard to guess;
    • Not a famous quotation;
    • Easy to remember and type; and
    • Not used in multiple places.

    To change your password:

    1. Log in to EquitableHealth.ca
    2. Click on My Information > User Profile
    3. Click Edit
    4. Confirm your information and enter your new password
    5. Click Save

    We will be announcing this enhancement to plan members on EquitableHealth.ca.

    New reports available on EquitableHealth.ca*

    Plan administrators and advisors with reporting access can now download three additional reports any time via the plan administrator and advisor websites on EquitableHealth.ca:

    • Premium and Tax – This report provides a breakdown of premiums and taxes paid per plan member for any specific time period for all applicable benefits.
    • Occupation and Earnings – This report provides current plan member earnings and occupation information and gives plan administrators an efficient way to report updates to us.
    • Employee listing – This report lists all plan members’ information, including name, certificate number, date of birth, province, occupation and salary, as well as benefit coverage currently in place and HCSA allocations.

    These reports can be downloaded in Excel format for easy updating, filtering or sorting.

    For more information, please contact your Client Relationship Specialist.

     

    *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients

  5. Equitable Life is making changes to its Pivotal Select Fund lineup
    On June 7, 2021, Equitable Life® will be launching new funds to the Pivotal Select™ segregated funds lineup. The new funds include: 
     
    1.            Mackenzie Global Strategic Income Fund
    2.            Fidelity® Special Situations Fund
    3.            Fidelity® Tactical Asset Allocation Income Portfolio
    4.            Fidelity® Tactical Asset Allocation Balanced Portfolio
    5.            Fidelity® Tactical Asset Allocation Growth Portfolio
     
    At Equitable Life, we pride ourselves on offering quality products. This means always reviewing our investment fund lineup. The reasons for this change are to create greater focus on investment offerings, and enhanced investment choices for you and your clients.
     
    Watch your email over the next few weeks for more details about Fidelity Investments and Mackenzie Investments, including two upcoming webcasts.   
     
    Fidelity and Fidelity Investments are registered trademarks of 483A Bay Street Holdings LP. Used with permission.
    Equitable Life and Pivotal Select are trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
  6. Updated Temporary Resident Guidelines – Student Permit Requirements We are pleased to announce that we have clarified the student permit requirements of our Temporary Resident Guidelines.
    ● The guidelines for Student Visa holders attending elementary and secondary school students have been outlined in further detail.
    ● The guidelines for Student Visa holders attending post secondary educational institutions have been enhanced with additional details regarding professional programs, as well as post-secondary programs not included in the professional program category. 

    Read more about the details of the changes in the updated Residency Guidelines form 1530.

    We have also added an additional note to the 1343 Evidence of Insurability to specify the following:
    ● If in Canada for less than 1 year, Paramedical, Blood Profile with Hepatitis screens and Urinalysis tests are required for applicants of attained age 17 or over.

    Read more about the details of the change in the updated Evidence of Insurability 1343.

    Please contact your local wholesaler for more information. 
     
  7. What’s the story behind Equitable’s new brand? We are excited to share some more insight into the news of Equitable’s new brand.
     
    Our new brand isn’t just a logo change.
    Our new brand reflects our deeply rooted dedication to our clients. Over the next year, we will make the transition to our refreshed look.  The new brand illustrates our focus on strong partnerships and making it even easier for you to do business with us. 
     
    Check out the Beyond the Logo video featuring our executive team sharing how the new brand embodies our commitment to advisors.
     
    We’ll provide more details on the changes we’re making, and we welcome you to join in the journey. Please reach out to your Equitable point of contact or visit equitable.ca to learn more.

    Posted December 4, 2023
  8. New web illustration tool for critical illness insurance

    A seamless integration with EZcomplete


    At Equitable®, we’re always looking for new ways to help you manage your business. We are excited to introduce our new web illustration tool for Critical Illness (CI) insurance. 

    This simple and intuitive tool integrates with the EZcomplete® dashboard to create a seamless experience. 

    Key features:
    ● Create CI illustrations for clients that easily transition to the application, with most fields auto populated.
    ● Save illustrations on your EZcomplete dashboard. This allows you to return and change or finish the quote at your convenience.
    ● Generate a fully compliant CI illustration PDF without logging into EquiNet®.

    Reminder: You have access to the same web illustration features for term insurance. 

    Visit the new web illustration tool here.



    ® and TM denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
  9. New Dividend Scale effective July 1, 2021 The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada Board of Directors has approved a change to the dividend scale for the period July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. 
       
    *The dividend scale interest rate is not the same as the participating account rate of return in any given calendar year. The dividend scale interest rate smooths out the ups and downs experienced by the participating account.
      
    Policyholder dividends in the next dividend scale year would be approximately $85 million, compared to $67 million in the prior dividend scale year.
     
    The sustained low interest rate environment continues to put downward pressure on the experience in the participating account. If low interest rates continue, investment returns in the participating account will also be lower, and we may need to decrease the dividend scale in the future. 
     
    Your participating whole life clients will receive a notice of the dividend scale change with their annual policy statement. The Equitable Sales Illustrations system will be updated to reflect the new dividend scale. Updated illustration software will be available for download after 9 a.m. ET on June 25, 2021.

    Find out more