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  1. 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.

  2. Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin – November 2020

    In this issue:

    *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients

    Telemedicine now included in Travel Assist*

    Medical emergencies can be particularly stressful while travelling. Making your way to a medical facility can be a struggle. And once you get there, you could face long wait times, language barriers or even the risk of COVID-19 infection.

    That’s why Allianz Global Assistance®, our Travel Assist provider, is adding two new virtual care options to provide plan members with timely and appropriate medical support.

    As always, when a travel medical emergency strikes, plan members call Allianz for assistance. During the intake process plan members will be guided through a series of questions to triage their unique medical situation. Options for care now include two different virtual care services:

    • TeleConsultation – Video and chat consultation with a locally licensed physician. This physician can diagnose simple medical conditions and provide a prescription. Available across Canada and in some high travel states in the United States.
    • TeleAdvice – Video and chat consultation for situations which are not likely to require a prescription. The physician can diagnose simple medical conditions and provide medical guidance.

    Plan members who use virtual care may benefit from:

    • Reduced wait times;
    • Care from the comfort of their current location;
    • Reduced language barriers;
    • No need to arrange transportation to a medical facility;
    • Reduced impact on travel itinerary; and
    • Reduced risk of exposure.

    Both TeleConsultation and TeleAdvice will be available for all Equitable Life plan members beginning January 1st, 2021. There is no additional cost, no changes required to your client’s plans, and no change to the way plan members contact Allianz in the event of a travel medical emergency.

    This PDF plan member update will also be included in the eNews to plan administrators.

    If you have any questions about these new features, please contact your Equitable Life Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

    Allianz Global Assistance is a registered business name of AZGA Service Canada Inc. and AZGA Insurance Agency Canada Ltd.

    Help your clients take advantage of our convenient digital options*

    During this time of physical distancing, people are looking for ways to interact with their providers virtually. We recently enhanced our Online Plan Member Enrolment tool, allowing all groups to add new plan members without the need for paper forms.

    Did you know, we have several other digital options available to make it easier for your clients to do business with us and for their plan members to access and use their benefits plan? Over 71% of plan administrators are managing their plan online and 78% of plan members are already using our digital tools.

    For plan administrators:

    • Plan Administrator Portal (EquitableHealth.ca) – plan administrators can easily manage their plan anytime and anywhere
    • Digital Welcome Kits – personalized welcome kits are delivered to plan members via email
    • Easy automated payments – plan administrators can avoid missed payments by setting up pre-authorized debit or electronic funds transfer 

    For plan members:

    • Plan Member Portal (EquitableHealth.ca) – plan members get secure, 24/7 access to their claims history, coverage details and health and wellness resources
    • Electronic Claim Payments and Notifications – plan members can get claim updates sooner in their email inbox and payments right into their bank account
    • EZClaim Mobile App – submitting claims from a mobile device is fast, easy and secure
    • Digital Benefits Cards – plan members no longer have to dig through their wallet – they can download their benefits card on their mobile device

    Learn more about how we’re making it easier for your clients to do business with us

    2021 changes to Maximum Insurable Earnings, Maximum Weekly Insurable Earnings and Short Term Disability Benefit*

    The Canada Employment Insurance Commission and Canada Revenue Agency have announced the 2021 changes to Maximum Insurable Earnings, and premiums for employment insurance. These changes take effect January 1st, 2021.

    Maximum Insurable Earnings (MIE)

    The MIE will increase from $54,200 to $56,300.

    Maximum Weekly Insurable Earnings (MWIE)

    The MWIE will increase from $1,042 to $1,083.

    EI Benefit (55% of the MWIE, rounded to the nearest dollar)

    EI benefit will increase from $573 to $595

    Information for Plan sponsors

    If your client’s Group Policy with Equitable Life includes a Short Term Disability (STD) benefit which is tied to the EI MWIE, and at least one classification of employees has less than a $595 maximum:

    • To comply with the provisions of their policy, their STD benefit will be revised with the maximums updated based on the percentage of EI MEIW shown in their policy.
    • The additional premium for any increase from their previous STD amounts and new STD amounts will be show on their January 2021 Group Insurance Billing (as applicable).

    If their STD maximum is currently higher than $595 or based on a flat amount (not based on a percentage or regular earnings):

    • No change will be made to their plan unless otherwise directed.

    If your clients wish to provide direction regarding revising their STD maximum, or have questions about the process, they can email Kari Gough, Manager, Group Quotes and Issue.

     

    *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients

  3. Anti-money laundering legislation changes for Savings & Retirement forms and applications
    To comply with the Government of Canada’s anti-money laundering legislation and FATCA/CRS changes, Equitable Life® has updated its Savings and Retirement forms and applications. New online forms and applications are available to download from EquiNet®. Paper applications are also available to order from Equitable’s Supply Team. For a complete list of all forms and applications affected by the anti-money laundering legislation, refer to Anti-money Laundering Legislation Requirements Summary.
     
    What should I do if I have existing paper applications?
    If you currently have paper applications (Form #1383, #1384, #799, #355) with a version date that is before April 2, 2021, Equitable Life will continue to accept them, with the caveat that additional information may be required from you and your client to comply with anti-money laundering legislation.
     
    How long can I use my existing paper applications with a version date before April 2, 2021?
    Paper applications (Form #1383, #1384, #799, #355) with a version date prior to 2021/04/02 (located on the back page and in the bottom right-hand corner of the application) will no longer be accepted after July 1, 2021. If you have applications with a date that is before 2021/04/02, please destroy them and use the fillable/savable PDF on EquiNet. You can also order paper applications from our Supply Team.
     

    Want to be sure you always have the most up-to-date application? Try our EZcomplete® online application platform. EZcomplete makes it easy to process your non face-to-face applications and allows your clients to provide their signature remotely on their own device.
     
    To learn more about the Government of Canada’s anti-money laundering legislation and FATCA/CRS review the following links.
     
    Government of Canada - Guidance on the Common Reporting Standard
    Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada
     
    If you have any other questions, contact your Regional Investment Sales Manager.
     
    ® denotes a registered trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.

     
  4. Conversions
  5. Conversions
  6. Can’t meet in person? EZcomplete is an EZ way to meet online


    Instead of canceling your meeting, why not meet online instead? Our EZcomplete® application makes it easy to process your non-face-to-face applications and do business with Equitable Life.
     
    EZcomplete is available on Pivotal Select™ segregated funds and all life products – Term, Whole Life, CI and Universal Life – and allows for the signing process to change from in-person to non face-to-face at the end of the application, despite how it was started.  This gives you and your clients the option to easily and efficiently connect remotely.



    How does it work?
     
    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. You simply need to enter their email address and provide them with a secret passcode to securely access the documents to review and sign.
     
    There is no limit on the face amounts or product options and the time to settle is reduced when using the application. It is a flexible, intuitive tool to use, and helps keep business on track now that many clients and advisors are opting for more social distance.


    For Life Advisors, please refer to the New Business and Underwriting page on Equinet for details about non-face-to-face delivery.

  7. New Dividend Scale Effective July 1, 2023! Equitable Life’s Board of Directors has approved a change to the dividend scale* for the period July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

    - The interest rate we use for the dividend scale will go from 6.05% to 6.25% on July 1, 2023.
    - Other factors used to decide the dividend scale will stay the same.
    - The interest rate for participating whole life policies with dividends on deposit will stay the same at 2.25%.
    - The policy loan interest rate** will go from 6.20% to 6.50% on June 30, 2023

    More good news!
    Once the next dividend scale year starts, we expect policyholder dividends to be close to $105 million until the end of June 2024.

    Learn more
    - Advisor Dividend Scale Notice
    - Client Dividend Scale Notice
    - Dividend Information Page




    Did you miss our virtual Spring Update & 2023 Dividend Scale Announcement? Watch it now:
    English.png French.png Chinese.png
    (*The French and Chinese events will be partially in English, with sub-titles on screen).
     

    TOGETHER – Protecting Today – Preparing Tomorrow™
    As a MUTUAL we provide financial security DIFFERENTLY by focusing exclusively on our CLIENTS.

    *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, expense, lapse, claims experience, taxes, and other experience of the participating block of policies. Changes in the dividend scale do not affect the guaranteed premium, guaranteed cash values, or guaranteed death benefit amount.  A copy of Equitable Life’s Dividend Policy and Participating Account Management Policy can be found on our website at www.equitable.ca.
     
    ** This applies to all new and active policy loans, including automatic premium loans. This change is for Equimax® policies that have a 9-digit policy number beginning with a “3” or an “8”. Some older policies may have other loan rates as they are based on the prime interest rate.
  8. The top individual insurance marketing materials! In 2025 there were five marketing pieces that advisors turned to most. If you haven’t seen them yet, now’s your chance to catch up. We want to help you connect with clients. These materials help make important topics easy to explain.

    Top five individual insurance marketing materials:
    1. 1024 Guide to individual underwriting. This guide shows how medical and non-medical conditions can affect insurance approvals.
    2. 1038 Understanding participating whole life. Explains Equimax® participating whole life insurance. It also discusses the Participating Account, how dividends are calculated, and how they can impact a policy.
    3. 1343 Evidence of insurability. Includes a chart showing the underwriting rules for life insurance products.
    4. 1530 Temporary resident underwriting guidelines. This is a list of the documents temporary residents need when applying for individual insurance.
    5. 1505 Dividend scale interest rate 30-year historical performance. This chart shows Equitable’s dividend scale interest rate history. It also compares our dividend scale rate to other major economic indicators.

    For a list of all our marketing pieces visit our marketing materials page on EquiNet.

    Have further questions? Your Equitable Wholesaler is here to help!
  9. Grow your guarantee using resets from Equitable Life
    Did you know that many of Equitable Life®’s segregated funds contracts, including Pivotal Select™ Estate Class and Protection Class, allow for an annual reset of the death benefit guarantee? Now could be a great time to remind clients to lock-in any gains with a death benefit reset; and increase their Death Benefit guarantee to 100% of the current market value. The ability to lock-in market growth using resets is one of the differences between segregated funds and mutual funds.
     
    To complete a reset, submit the applicable investment direction form. If you have Limited Trading Authorization on file, you can sign the request on your client’s behalf*. The Investment Direction Forms are posted on EquiNet®, or can be found here (by product):
       
    Be sure to check out the “Growing your Guarantee with Resets” marketing piece which can be shared with your clients. For questions about resets, contact your Regional Investment Sales Manager today.


     
    *Advisors are required to keep notes of their conversation with their client for audit purposes when completing transactions using Limited Trading Authorization. World Financial Group (WFG) advisors are not permitted to use Limited Trading Authorization as per their agreement with WFG.
    ® and TM denote trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada
     
  10. Anti-money laundering legislation changes To comply with the Government of Canada’s anti-money laundering legislation and FATCA/CRS changes, Equitable Life® has made changes to the information that we collect on some of our applications and forms.

    Changes and updates to our online forms and applications include the following:

    ● The 350 Application for Life Insurance -  Advisors can order new paper applications from Equitable’s Supply Team by filling out the Supply Order form 1390 and emailing it to supply@equitable.ca. You will receive your copies as they become available.
    ◦ Paper applications submitted after May 15, 2021, with a version date before April 2, 2021 will be accepted with the caveat that additional information may be required from the advisor to comply with anti-money laundering legislation. 
    ◦ As of July 1, 2021 any application with a version date prior to April 2, 2021 will no longer be accepted by Equitable Life.

    ● Equitable’s EZcomplete® online application reflects the new changes effective May 15, 2021. Any in-flight applications in EZcomplete will automatically be updated to comply with anti-money laundering legislation. You may be required to complete additional fields before submitting the application for signatures.

    ● Various other forms will now require additional information. A complete list of all forms and applications affected by the anti-money laundering legislation can be found here. 

    Learn more about the Government of Canada’s anti-money laundering legislation and Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada