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1. Update on our service levels during the COVID-19 pandemic

   Supporting your clients and their plan members is more important than ever during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

   So, we’re providing an update on our service levels.

   We acted quickly to ensure there were no disruptions in service – most of our staff were working remotely from home and fully functional within a few days. We’ve reallocated resources from functions where volumes are down, such as dental claims, to those experiencing higher volumes. We also created a separate queue for COVID-19-related STD claims.

   As a result, we’ve been able to maintain the industry-leading service levels you have come to expect from us, and our turnaround times continue to be well within our targets.

   Here’s a summary of what you and your clients can currently expect in terms of average turnaround times:

   Service category	Average Turnaround Time (as of April 26th)
   Customer Care Centre wait times	89% of calls answered within 20 seconds
   Responses to emails to our Service Team	Within 24 hours
   Health claims	2 days
   Dental claims	2 days
   Life claims	1 day
   STD claims	4 days
   LTD claims	4 days
   Plan member updates	2 days
   New customer implementations	16 days
   COVID-19-related plan amendments	4 days
   Other plan amendments	8 days
   Quotes	2 days ahead of deadline

   We will closely monitor the situation and continue to adapt to ensure we maintain our service levels. And we will do our best to resolve any service issues that arise as quickly as possible.

   Please feel free to contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager and let us know how we’re doing.

2. Insights from a pandemic: STD claims during COVID-19

   The spread of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on short-term disability (STD) claims. We’re providing an update on what we’ve seen so far in terms of STD experience on our block.

   Claim volumes

   Initially, as COVID-19 started to spread, STD claims ramped up quickly as plan members tested positive for or developed symptoms associated with the virus and were unable to work. Overall, we saw a 34% increase in the volume of claims on our block in Q1, compared with the first quarter of 2019, primarily due to COVID-19-related claims.

   Since then, we’ve seen the number of COVID-19-related STD claims slow. Claims levelled off to a 21% year-over-year increase by the end of May. We haven’t seen any meaningful increase in STD claims related to mental health.

   Most of the COVID-19-related STD claims so far have been in the manufacturing, retail and healthcare and social assistance sectors where physical distancing can be challenging.

   Somewhat surprisingly, Alberta had for the largest share of STD claims on our block, accounting for 40% of claims, followed by BC with 28% and Ontario with 21%.

   Claim durations

   While STD claim volumes have increased, we’ve seen a notable decrease in claim durations so far this year. As of the end of May, 59% of closed claims resolved in the first two weeks, compared with only 20% the previous year. This is expected given the nature of COVID-19 and that, for most people, symptoms dissipate within about two weeks./p>

   Of the STD claims we’ve approved, approximately 25% were paid for the full 14 days. In most cases, this meant the plan member had tested positive for COVID-19.The remaining 75% of paid claims were paid based on the elimination period in the contract, with the most common elimination period of 7 days accounting for 35% of paid claims.

   We will continue to provide timely updates on any development/p>

3. Make room for more EDO room

   Effective June 26, 2021, a term rider added to an Equimax Estate Builder® or Equimax Wealth Accumulator® policy may allow for an increase to the maximum Excelerator Deposit Option (EDO) payment limit.
    
   Highlights:
   
   ● This enhancement will apply to adult single life Equimax Estate Builder and Wealth Accumulator policies where the Owner Signature Date on the application for insurance is June 26, 2021 or after.
   ● For the term rider to increase the EDO payment limit, it must be issued at the same time as the Equimax coverage.
   ● Term rider EDO payment limit assumes the term rider is held at least 10 years.
   ● The illustration system and EZcomplete application will calculate the maximum EDO payment including any increase from a term rider.
   ● Policies already issued do not qualify.  
   
   Full details about the changes can be found in the transition rules.
    
   Who can benefit from this product enhancement?
   Your clients who have a temporary insurance need and add a term rider to their Equimax plan may be able to take advantage of the additional exempt room and higher EDO payment limits to build the policy values. Make Equimax® your first choice for your clients’ whole life insurance needs.
    
   New Illustration software is now available
   The updated illustration software will be available for download after 9 a.m. ET on Friday, June 25, 2021. 
    
   Want more information?
   
   ● Learn more about the changes and transition rules
   ● Contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information on these changes and other sales ideas  

   
   ® denotes a registered trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.

4. Excelerator Deposit Option – maximum payment limit changes

   The Excelerator Deposit Option (EDO) gives your client the option to make additional payments, subject to specified limits and our current administrative rules and guidelines, above the required guaranteed policy premium. EDO payments can help grow the long-term values in your client’s policy.  This change is regarding the maximum EDO payment limit that applies to the policy.
    
   For Equimax policies with an Owner Signature Date of June 26, 2021 or after where a term rider has increased the maximum EDO payment limit on the policy

   ● NEW! If a request is received to terminate, convert, or reduce the term rider and the term rider has been in effect for 10 years or longer, the EDO maximum for the policy will not be reduced.
   ● If a request is received to terminate, convert, or reduce the term rider and the term rider has been in effect for less than 10 years (it has not reached the 10^th policy anniversary), the EDO maximum for the policy will be reduced accordingly.
   
   Current rules as to when underwriting is required for EDO payments continue to apply, as do current rules surrounding acceptance of EDO payments and maintaining the tax-exempt status of the policy and can be found in the Equimax Product Admin Guide.
   
   Want more information?
   • EDO Q&A
   • Equimax Product Admin Guide
    Contact your Regional Sales Manager for more information on these changes
    
5. Take the helm in 2024 with insights from leading investment experts

   Find out what our panel of leading investment experts are saying about the markets and how they are positioning their portfolios. Learn about the themes and forces driving markets and where there are opportunities.
    

    

   • •  Equitable Asset Management Group - Dave Irwin, AVP, External Fund Management.

   • •  Fidelity Investments - Ilan Kolet, Institutional Portfolio Manager, Global Asset Allocation (GAA) Group.

   • •  Franklin Bissett (ClearBridge) Investment Management - Les Stelmach, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager.

   • •  Mackenzie Bluewater Team - Shah Khan, Vice President, Portfolio Manager.

   Cam Crosbie, Executive Vice-President, Savings & Retirement will highlight some of the ways Equitable can help make 2024 a great year. We’ve got everything you need and more!
    
   Learn more!
    
    

   Posted January 3, 2024 
   
   Continuing Education Credits
   This webcast 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.
    
   ™ and ® denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada
6. Pique your Fi-natical Curiosity with Equitable and Invesco

   Get ready for an engaging session where we'll uncover 8 core topics that every advisor should know about clients. One of those core topics is “who do you care about?” This helps advisors understand who is important to clients, so they can then begin to include them in their planning. Let's dive in and discover how to make client relationships even stronger.
   
   Rob Kochel, Director, Invesco Consulting Canada, will explain how asking the right questions helps advisors learn more about clients, so they can work towards capturing up to 70% more of their clients’ assets. Join Joseph Trozzo, Vice President, Investment Sales, at Equitable^® as he hosts this Master Class webcast on “Fi-natical Curiosity”.
   
   Featured Speaker: Rob Kochel
   Rob is a Director with Invesco Consulting. This group has earned a reputation within the financial sector as a premier provider of business strategies to the industry. Rob is a national speaker who is recruited for keynote presentations and workshops to share his personal learnings and Invesco Consulting's expertise.
   
   Learn more
   
   Continuing Education Credits 
   This master class has been submitted for continuing education (CE) approval for all provinces excluding Quebec via the Insurance Council of Manitoba and Alberta Insurance Council. Upon approval, you will be sent an email notification to come back to the webcast 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. It is the advisor's responsibility to ensure Continuing Education credits being offered are accepted by their licensing body. Alberta Insurance Council (AIC) credits are valid in Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Insurance Council of Manitoba (ICM) credits are valid in Manitoba only. 
   
   This webcast is available in English only. 
    

   Date posted: March 13, 2025

7. October 2019 Advisor eNews

   Coverage of Remicade, Enbrel and Lantus in BC

   As we announced in August, BC PharmaCare recently introduced a new Biosimilars Initiative that ends coverage of three biologic drugs, including Remicade, Enbrel, and Lantus. These drugs will no longer be eligible in British Columbia for most conditions for which lower-cost biosimilar versions are available. Patients in the province with these conditions will be required to switch to biosimilar versions of these drugs by Nov. 25, 2019 in order to maintain their coverage under BC PharmaCare. Patients taking Remicade for Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis will not be required to switch to a biosimilar until March 6, 2020.
    
   Biologics are drugs that are engineered using living organisms, such as yeast and bacteria. Biosimilars are highly similar to the originator drugs they are based on and most have been shown to have no clinically meaningful differences in safety or efficacy.
    
   To ensure this provincial change doesn’t result in your clients’ plans paying additional drug costs, we have aligned our drug eligibility for these three biologic drugs with that of BC PharmaCare.
    
   As previously announced, effective Nov. 25, 2019, Remicade and Enbrel will no longer be eligible for BC plan members with conditions for which lower-cost biosimilar versions of the drugs are available. These plan members will be required to switch to the biosimilar versions of these drugs in order to maintain eligibility on the Equitable Life drug plan. We have communicated with Plan Administrators about this change, and we have informed affected claimants of the need to switch medications.  
    
   As well, effective Feb. 3, 2020, the drug ingredient cost for Lantus will no longer be eligible for BC plan members; only the dispensing fee may be eligible under their Equitable Life plan. Plan members taking Lantus will be required to switch to Basaglar, the lower-cost biosimilar version of the drug, in order to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life plan. We will be communicating with Lantus claimants in the coming weeks to allow them 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.

   De-listed service providers

   As part of our ongoing initiative to have Group Benefits plans only reimburse eligible claims, we conduct reviews of the billing and administrative practices of service providers, including clinics, facilities and medical suppliers.

   As a result of these reviews we may de-list certain providers.  We will no longer accept, or process claims for services and/or supplies obtained from those providers. The plan member can still choose to obtain services or supplies from these providers, but Equitable Life will not provide reimbursement for the claims.

   Review Equitable Life’s de-listed service providers

   The delisted service provider list is also posted on EquitableHealth.ca for plan members to review to determine if their claim(s) are eligible for reimbursement under their Group Benefits plan.

   For more information about protecting group benefits plans from abuse, check out our articles.

8. 100 years strong

   As COVID-19 continues, we want to reassure you that Equitable Life remains financially strong and committed to supporting our clients.

   We are financially strong and stable

   Our commitment to your health, wealth and overall well-being remains unchanged. This global pandemic has impacted the way we do business, but we continue to focus on our strategic goals while meeting the needs of Canadians. These three factors speak to our financial strength and stability:
   
   • Equitable Life has a global credit rating of ‘A’ with a positive trend from DBRS Morningstar in recognition of our ability to adapt to the current business environment and prudent risk profile;
   • We are maintaining our current dividend scale for the period July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021; and
   • Our Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio remains well above our goal and the minimum that is required at 152.5% at the close of the first quarter.We pride ourselves on our customer service
   
   Being recognized for its service culture across all lines of business is a point of pride for a company that includes ‘customer focus’ as one of its three corporate values. In 2019, our dedication to customer service was recognized with these outstanding survey results, proving we have the We have the knowledge, experience and ability to find solutions that work for you:
   • Equitable Life ranked in the top quartile for segregated fund service in 2019 survey of advisors and MGAs¹ ;
   • In a 2019 survey of customers from 15 life insurance companies,² Equitable Life ranked #1 on the Net Promoter Score, a measure used across industries to gauge the loyalty of a firm's customer relationships; and
   • A survey of Group consultants, brokers and third-party administrators ³ ranked Equitable Life in the top two insurers across all categories.

   We have adjusted our business to become digital

   Since the pandemic began, our IT and operations teams have digitally enhanced more than 20 different processes and services to make it easier for us to integrate with our distribution partners in this new reality. Our sales and customer service teams remain open and available to support you and your customers.

   
   We are here with you and for you

   • To commemorate our 100^th Anniversary this year, we donated $4.5 million to purchase and install a new MRI for Grand River Hospital and, as part of our Equitable Gives Back Contest, we donated $50,000 –  $10,000 each – to five charities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. As well, we are celebrating by randomly selecting policyholders to receive a $100 and three grand prizes. For more information about our celebrations, check out our website at www.equitable100.ca.
     
     As the global situation continues to evolve, rest assured that Equitable Life is unwavering in our commitments to you and the communities we serve. We are here with you and for you.
   ¹ Life Ops Consulting Group Distribution Service Satisfaction Surveys 2015-2019, Independent Advisors
   ²  LIMRA CxP Customer Experience Benchmarking Program, Life Insurance In-Force Experience 2019
   ³ NMG Consulting’s Canadian Group Benefits Survey 2019
    
9. NEW MARKETING MATERIAL! Flexibility for supplemental income with Equimax Equitable has created a new piece to help you understand our new Equimax^® illustration feature, Paid-Up Additions (PUA) to Cash Dividends, now available!
   
   Did you know Equimax clients can switch from the PUA dividend option to the cash dividend option by simply requesting a dividend option change?^1,2
   
   You can illustrate this for paid-up 10 pay and 20 pay Equimax plans! Show clients how they can build in added flexibility and use their policy to create a source of future supplemental income by simply changing the dividend option to cash.³
    
   Illustration Considerations:
   ● Works with Equimax Estate Builder^® or Equimax Wealth Accumulator^®.
   ● Illustrate the Excelerator Deposit Option (EDO) to help build the policy values while the PUA dividend option is in effect. EDO payments can’t be made once the policy is switched to the cash dividend option.
   ● If a client needs temporary insurance coverage – like mortgage protection - illustrate term riders for how long they are needed to meet the specific goal.³
   ● If critical illness coverage is needed our competitively priced 20 pay critical illness riders are a great fit to provide paid-up critical illness coverage.³ 
   
   Clients should apply for the coverage they need. This concept is about flexibility to create a future source of supplemental income.
   
   Want to learn more? Check out our new marketing piece: Flexibility for supplemental income with Equimax (2077).
   
   For more information, reach out to your local wholesaler.
    
    
   ^® and ^TM denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.
   ¹ Dividends are not guaranteed and are paid at the sole discretion of the Board of Directors.  Dividends may be subject to taxation. Dividends will vary based on the actual investment returns in the participating account as well as mortality, expenses, lapse, claims experience, taxes, and other experience of the participating block of policies.
   ² To request a change to the dividend option complete and submit form 558 (Request for Withdrawal of Dividends, Change in Option, or Premium Offset). A client can request a change to the cash dividend option from any other dividend option regardless of the premium type or whether premiums continue to be payable, subject to our current administration rules and guidelines. Some dividend option changes are subject to underwriting. Underwriting is not required to change from the PUA to cash dividend option, however, underwriting is required to change from the cash dividend option to the PUA dividend option.
   ³ This concept is intended to illustrate a one-time switch to cash dividends once premiums are no longer payable for the policy (including premiums for riders). Premiums are paid with after-tax dollars and dividends paid in cash are subject to taxation.  If premiums are payable there will be tax savings for the client to use the before-tax cash dividend to reduce the premium instead of taking it entirely as a cash payment.  This concept is intended for longer term planning, not to meet short term cash needs by switching back and forth between the PUA and cash options. Clients should consider a policy loan or a cash withdrawal to meet short-term cash needs; policy loans and cash withdrawals may be subject to taxation.
    
10. Policy Change and Conversions eDelivery - Quick Tips and Tricks