EquiNet Equitable Life's advisor site

Site Search

340 results for mode change request

  1. Individual Insurance product enhancements

    Equitable Life has exciting product enhancements that will help you offer more options to clients. 

    Watch our Virtual Product Launch NOW. Grab a coffee and get ready for this exciting news! Hear from our leaders and learn about our exciting product enhancements.

    - Full Product Launch Video (approx. 20 minutes). 
    - Introduction video (View on Vimeo) / Product launch page 


    Highlights of the product changes effective February 12, 2022, include:

     

    NEW! 10 pay premium option with Equimax Estate Builder®

    - The new EquiLiving® 20 pay rider options will be available on Equimax® plans


    NEW! EquiLiving plans and riders enhanced with:

    - 20 pay options with coverage to age 75 or coverage for life
    - Support from Cloud DX to help monitor a client’s well-being from treatment to recovery.
    - Added Acquired Brain Injury as a covered critical condition 
    - 30-day survival period removed for all non-cardiovascular covered conditions
    - No age restriction to claim for Loss of Independent Existence (LOIE)
    - EquiLiving Benefit now pays the higher of the EquiLiving Benefit or the Return of Premium Rider Benefit (not including Return of Premium on Death)          
    - And so much more …

    New Illustration software available on February 11, 2022 
    The updated illustration software will be available for download after 9 a.m. ET on Friday, February 11, 2022, and will include all the Equimax and EquiLiving enhancements.

    See the Equitable Sales Illustrations Update for information on how to download the software or check for updates. 

    Please review updates to the commission schedule A for these new enhancements.

    Learn more Get ready to make 2022 your best year yet for your sales! 

    Please contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information. 
  2. Product Enhancements - Critical Illness Equitable Life has exciting product enhancements that will help you offer more options to clients. 

    Access our Virtual Product Launch NOW. Grab a coffee and get ready for this exciting news! Hear from our leaders and learn about our exciting product enhancements.

    NEW! EquiLiving plans and riders enhanced with:
    • 20 pay options with coverage to age 75 or coverage for life
    • Support from Cloud DX to help monitor a client’s well-being from treatment to recovery.
    • Added Acquired Brain Injury as a covered critical condition 
    • 30-day survival period removed for all non-cardiovascular covered conditions
    • No age restriction to claim for Loss of Independent Existence (LOIE)
    • EquiLiving Benefit now pays the higher of the EquiLiving Benefit or the Return of Premium Rider Benefit (not including Return of Premium on Death)
    • And so much more …
    New Illustration software available on February 11, 2022 
    The updated illustration software will be available for download after 9 a.m. ET on Friday, February 11, 2022, and will include all the Equimax and EquiLiving enhancements.

    See the Equitable Sales Illustrations Update for information on how to download the software or check for updates. 

    Please review updates to the commission schedule A for these new enhancements.

    Learn more Get ready to make 2022 your best year yet for your sales! 

    Please contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information. 
  3. Product Enhancements - 10 Pay Equitable Life has exciting product enhancements that will help you offer more options to clients. 

    Access our Virtual Product Launch NOW. Grab a coffee and get ready for this exciting news! Hear from our leaders and learn about our exciting product enhancements.

    NEW! 10 pay premium option with Equimax Estate Builder®
    • The new EquiLiving® 20 pay rider options will be available on Equimax® plans
    New Illustration software available on February 11, 2022 
    The updated illustration software will be available for download after 9 a.m. ET on Friday, February 11, 2022, and will include all the Equimax and EquiLiving enhancements.

    See the Equitable Sales Illustrations Update for information on how to download the software or check for updates. 

    Please review updates to the commission schedule A for these new enhancements.

    Learn more Get ready to make 2022 your best year yet for your sales! 

    Please contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information. 
  4. Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin – March 2022 In this issue: *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients
     

    CLHIA launches industry anti-fraud initiative*

    In February, the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) announced a new anti-fraud initiative that is using advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to further identify and reduce benefits fraud.
     
    Equitable Life is excited to be a part of this important initiative. It will enhance our own fraud detection analytics by using AI to connect the dots across a huge pool of anonymized claims data. This will lead to more investigations and actions to mitigate the impact of fraud on your clients’ plans.
     
    The initiative is being led by the CLHIA and member insurers and is supported by technology provider Shift Technologies. It will be further rolled-out and expanded over the next three years.
     
    Benefits fraud affects more than just insurers. The costs of fraud are felt by employers and their employees as well. We are looking forward to being able to better identify and reduce benefits fraud.
     

    Provincial biosimilar update*

    BC expands its biosimilar initiative
    BC Pharmacare recently announced it is adding two rapid-acting insulins to the list of drugs included in its ongoing initiative to switch patients to biosimilar versions of high-cost biologics. Patients taking Humalog or NovoRapid for Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drugs by May 29, 2022 to maintain coverage under the public plan.

    Biologics are drugs that are engineered using living organisms like yeast and bacteria. The first version of a biologic developed is also known as the “originator” biologic. Biosimilars are also biologics. They are highly similar to the originator biologic drugs they are based on, and Health Canada considers them to be equally safe and effective for approved conditions.

    How we are responding to protect our clients
    To help prevent this change from resulting in additional costs for our clients’ drug plans while still providing plan members with access to safe and effective medications, we will no longer cover Humalog or NovoRapid for plan members in BC. Effective June 1, 2022, claimants currently taking Humalog or NovoRapid will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drugs to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life plan and their BC Pharmacare plan.

    We will be communicating this change to plan administrators later this week. And we will be communicating with affected claimants in early April to allow ample time to change their prescription and avoid any interruptions in their treatment or their coverage.
    If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

    Nova Scotia and Northwest Territories introduce biosimilar initiatives
    The governments of Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories each recently announced they are launching biosimilar initiatives to switch patients from certain originator biologic drugs to biosimilar versions of the drugs.

    Patients in Nova Scotia using affected originator biologic drugs will have until February 2023 to switch to a biosimilar version of their medications in order to maintain coverage under the province’s public drug plans. Patients in the Northwest Territories will have until June 20, 2022, to switch.

    Equitable Life® actively monitors and investigates all biosimilar policy changes and the ongoing evolution of biosimilar drugs entering Canada.  We will keep you informed of any impact on private drug plans and how we are responding.
     

    Quebec decreasing insurance premium tax*

    The Quebec Government has announced that it plans to decrease its Insurance Premium Tax rates effective April 1, 2022. The premium tax rates for group life and accident and sickness insurance are expected to decrease from 3.48% to 3.3%. The new tax rates will be applied to premiums for the billing period beginning on or after April 1, 2022.
     

    Coming soon: A survey to understand how we can better serve your clients’ needs*

    We are committed to providing your clients and their plan members with industry-leading service. We’ve introduced several enhancements over the past year to make it easier to do business with us. And we’re continually looking for ways to improve.
     
    In the coming weeks, we will conduct a survey of your clients to help us understand how we can better serve them. On March 28, we will send plan administrators an email with a link to the survey. The survey will remain open until the end of the day on April 11 and will take between five and 10 minutes to complete. Please encourage your clients to participate. Their feedback will be confidential, and their responses will help us improve our service and ensure we’re meeting their expectations. We may also follow up with plan administrators directly to address any concerns they’ve identified.
     
    We know your clients’ time is valuable. So, each plan administrator who completes the survey will be entered into a random draw for a chance to win one of 25 prepaid gift cards for $25.
     

    Remind your clients’ plan members in BC, Manitoba and Saskatchewan to register for Pharmacare*

    If your clients have plan members in British Columbia, Manitoba or Saskatchewan, the provincial government offers a Pharmacare program to support prescription drug costs.  Plan members in these provinces must register for their provincial Pharmacare program to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life drug plan.
     
    Registration is easy! We will send two registration reminder messages directly to plan members’ pharmacists and post them on their Explanation of Benefits. We’ve also created a step-by-step guide that your clients can share with their plan members.
     
    English version
    French version
     
    For more information about the provincial Pharmacare programs, including how plan members can register, please visit:
     
    For British Columbia residents: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage/pharmacare-for-bc-residents  
     
    For Manitoba residents: https://www.gov.mb.ca/health/pharmacare/apply.html
     
    For Saskatchewan residents: https://www.saskatchewan.ca/residents/health/prescription-drug-plans-and-health-coverage/extended-benefits-and%20drug-plan/drug-cost-assistance#eligibility
     
     
  5. EquiLiving offers more options to clients facing a covered Critical Illness condition Consider these statistics…1 in 2 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetimes1. They’re just numbers…until the day someone you know is diagnosed, someone who didn’t see it coming. Then it becomes very real - no longer incidence statistics, but costs. Today more people than ever are surviving and living with not only just the physical, but also the financial effects of their illness.
     
    We’re there to help when illness strikes

    NEW! EquiLiving® plans and riders have recently been enhanced including:

    ●  20 pay options with coverage to age 75 or coverage for life
    ●  Support from Cloud DX to help monitor a client’s well-being from treatment to recovery.
    ●  Added Acquired Brain Injury as a covered critical condition 
    ●  30-day survival period removed for all non-cardiovascular covered conditions
    ●  No age restriction to claim for Loss of Independent Existence (LOIE)
    ●  EquiLiving Benefit now pays the higher of the EquiLiving Benefit or the Return of Premium Rider Benefit (not including Return of Premium on Death)
    ●  And so much more …

    Learn more
    ●  CI product enhancement video
    ●  Visit our launch event page with product change details and more
    ●  Marketing Materials

    Please contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information. 
     
    1 www.cancer.ca
     
  6. Application cloning option now available on EZcomplete As of September 10th, you will now have the option to clone any Life Insurance and Critical Illness applications that is showing on the EZcomplete dashboard. “Cloning” means the information that has been completed in the existing application is duplicated in a new application.
     
    This feature is meant for situations where multiple applications are being completed and at least one of the parties (the policy owner or insured person) is the same. For example, a single policy owner might own policies on the lives of each of their children. Cloning the application will save re-typing the information about the policy owner into each application.
     
    Please note the following important details regarding cloning:
       
    Resources  
    Please contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information
     
  7. NEW Jump Around feature available on EZcomplete One of the most requested features is available on EZcomplete® effective November 19, 2022. We like to call it “jump around”. It’s the ability to jump from one part of the application to another and back again. You no longer have to complete the application one section after another in order. This will allow a lot more flexibility when submitting a policy application.

    This functionality is helpful as you can input basic client information ahead of a meeting to review with the client later. After completing the Owner’s step (step 1), you could jump to step five (Subsequent Payment) or step six (Third Party). This allows you the opportunity to easily jump back and add a second owner once you have all their details from the client. You can also return to your dashboard, and when you go back into the application, you will be returned to the owner’s section.

    Hitting the Save button will save the information you have inputted already, so after jumping ahead to a different section, you can return to complete those questions knowing your progress will be saved.  When you have completed all the necessary fields, hitting the Done button will validate all the information and the step will be complete. A check mark will appear beside each completed and validated step.
    Please note, if you go back to a previously validated step and change information you will have to go through all subsequent steps and complete and validate them again by clicking next if nothing has changed or making any necessary changes.

    To Equitable Life®, the term EZ really means something! Learn more about how doing business with Equitable Life continues to be easy.

    Questions: Please contact your Regional Sales Manager

    ® denotes a trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
     
  8. December 2022 eNews

    Update: EI Sickness Benefit Extension confirmed for Dec. 18, 2022*

    The federal government confirmed on Nov. 25, 2022, that it is extending the Employment Insurance (EI) Sickness Benefits period permanently from 15 weeks to 26 weeks. The change takes effect on Dec. 18, 2022.
     
    Equitable Life will not require or implement any changes to our disability plan designs based on this extension. However, plan sponsors may wish to amend their short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) plans and policies to align with the new 26-week EI period.
     
    If your clients choose to amend their plan design in response to this extension, we have created an overview of how amendments may affect common plan design scenarios. Click here to learn more.

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

    QDIPC updates terms and conditions for 2023*



    Every year, the Quebec Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation (QDIPC) reviews the terms and conditions for the high-cost pooling system in the province.

    Based on its latest review, QDIPC is revising its pooling levels and fees for 2023 to reflect trends in the volume of claims submitted to the pool, particularly catastrophic claims:

    QDIPC-2023-EN.PNG

    We will apply the new pooling levels and fees to future renewal calculations that involve Quebec plan members.

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

    *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients



     
  9. Secure your GIA rate with Equitable today! The Bank of Canada (BOC) recently cut its key interest rate for a second time this year to 4.5%. As inflation cools and the BOC hints at more interest rate cuts this year, the time has never been better to secure a Guaranteed Interest Account (GIA) rate.

    Equitable’s fresh client-focused approach to guaranteed investing means:
    • market leading interest rates1, with even higher rates available for larger deposits,
    • a full suite of available account types including the First Home Savings Account, and
    • options to invest up to age 952.
    “This is a great opportunity for clients and advisors,” said Cam Crosbie, Executive Vice President of the Savings and Retirement Division at Equitable®. “These are safe and secure investment solutions with potential for creditor protection, estate planning benefits, and so much more.”

    GIAs are simple fixed-income investment products that can provide increased choice and value to a client’s portfolio. Choosing Equitable provides competitive interest rates and protection from market volatility. For more information visit EquiNet® and don’t forget to register for our interest rate change alert email.

    1 Equitable has made every effort to ensure accuracy of competitive information as of July 22, 2024. Accuracy is not guaranteed. 
    2 Some available term lengths may be limited starting at age 90.
    ® or ™ denotes a trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.      

    Posted August 15
  10. Flexibility for a client’s ever-changing life

    Term life insurance offers full and partial conversion options to meet changing needs


    Life is always changing—whether a client is buying their first home, welcoming a new baby, or sending the kids off to college. While most clients think of term life insurance as a solution to meet a temporary need, they don’t necessarily consider the power of term conversion options to meet their future needs. 

    Full and partial conversion options can help meet a client’s needs as their life journey and insurance needs change, without having to provide proof of continued good health. 

    Full conversion:
    •    With full conversion, clients can convert all of their term coverage from their policy or rider to permanent life insurance. This allows the client to lock in a level premium rate for life.




    Partial conversion:
    •    With a partial conversion, clients can convert a portion of their term coverage from their policy or rider to a permanent plan. This allows them to help cover off both a short-term need and also provides lifetime protection.

    Did you know?
    Our partial conversion with a term rider carryover is now more flexible than ever. Read more about it here!

    For more information, please consult the Equitable Term Life insurance admin guide.