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1. [pdf] A Unique Approach to Managing Disability
2. Short-term disability coverage for plan members in quarantine or self-isolation*

   Please note: This announcement applies only to groups with short-term disability coverage through Equitable Life

   With the spread of COVID-19, many people have been instructed to self-isolate or quarantine themselves or are doing so voluntarily. We realize this is a stressful situation for people and they may be wondering if they are eligible for disability benefits. Short-term disability is designed to replace a plan member’s earnings if they are unable to work due to illness and injury.  As a result, only plan members who meet the following criteria are eligible for benefits:

   • Plan members who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are unable to work from home are eligible for coverage from Day 1 of their self-isolation period.
   • Plan members who have not been tested but have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and are unable to work from home, are eligible for coverage. Claims will be assessed according to the terms of the plan.

   Plan members who are in quarantine for any other reason, but do not have symptoms consistent with COVID-19, are not eligible for coverage. These plan members should consider applying for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, if they do not have an option to work from home.

   Submitting COVID-19-related STD claims

   To make things easier for plan members who need to submit claims related to COVID-19, we will not require a physician’s statement. Instead plan members should submit our simplified Short Term Disability Plan Member COVID-19 Claim Form.

   Plan Administrators need to complete their portion of the regular Short Term Disability Form (Form #421).

   This is a temporary process that will remain in effect through the current coronavirus situation. We will update on changes and share them on EquitableHealth.ca.

   Applying for the Employment Insurance sickness benefit

   Canadians quarantined due to COVID-19, who are not receiving Short Term Disability benefits, can apply for Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits. The one-week waiting period for EI sickness benefits has been waived. Service Canada’s dedicated toll-free support number is 1-833-381-2725 or (TTY) 1-800-529-3742.

   *Indicates content that will be shared with your clients

3. IMPORTANT NOTICE: FUNDS WITH DEFERRED SALES CHARGE OPTIONS

   The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators require all insurance companies to discontinue the sale of segregated funds with Deferred Sales Charge (DSC) effective June 1, 2023*.  

   PIVOTAL SELECT™ SEGREGATED FUND PRODUCTS 

   On May 29, 2023, funds with a DSC or Low Load (LL) sales charge option will be allocated to the No Load (NL) sales charge option of the funds available within the policy. 

   • Any existing amounts held in DSC or LL funds will retain the existing DSC schedule, outlined in the client’s contract. The annual 10% available (20% for RIF policies) for withdrawal without fees continues to apply through to the expiry of the fee schedule. 
   • If the default deposit instructions and/or pre-authorized scheduled deposits the client previously provided include funds with DSC or LL, these instructions will automatically update to NL of the same fund for all future deposits. 

   In alignment with Equitable's current administrative rules, if the client has DSC or LL funds, the client will not be able to deposit No Load Chargeback funds (NL-CB and NL-CB5) within the same policy. 
   
   For more information, please click here.

   LEGACY SEGREGATED FUND PRODUCTS 

   Ongoing deposits to DSC funds continue when a segregated fund product does not have an alternative sales charge option available within the contract. This applies to the following products: 

   • Personal Investment Portfolio 
   • Pivotal Solutions II 
   • Pivotal Solutions DSC 

   Clients may continue to make new deposits to the DSC funds within the policy. Any new segregated fund deposits, as well as any existing segregated fund amounts within the policy, will retain the DSC schedule outlined in the contract. 
   
   For more information, please click here.
   
   Equitable's Advisor Services Team is available Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. ET at 1.866.884.7427 or by email at savingsretirement@equitable.ca. You can also contact your Regional Investment Sales Manager. 
    

   *Draft regulation in Quebec is currently under review which may affect Equitable Life’s approach for clients in the Province of Quebec with legacy segregated fund products. We will continue to monitor provincial regulatory developments. 

   ™ or ® denote registered trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada. 

   Date posted: May 4, 2023
    

4. NEW MARKETING MATERIAL! Equimax Participating Whole Life, Strong and Stable Dividends Participating whole life policyholders can get some of the participating account earnings back as dividends.^₁
   
   Dividend scales change over time. This new marketing piece shows how the actual values of policies look like against those that were estimated. It looks at two sample policies and compares them to the original sales illustrations. One example shows an Equimax Estate Builder^® policy. The other example shows an Equimax® Wealth Accumulator^® policy.
   
   We are proud of our strong and stable dividend results. We have paid dividends to our participating policyholders every year since 1936. And we’re still going strong!
   
   We want to make sure that we can continue to provide long-term income and growth to support the dividend scale and meet the product guarantees. We do this with constant focus on how we invest and manage risk to support the participating account.
   
   As a mutual life insurance company, we are owned by our policyholders who count on us and our services. Their trust in our knowledge, experience, and financial strength helps us keep our commitments to them—now and in the future.
   
   Dividend scales may change.² But with a balanced approach, Equitable Life’s Equimax® Participating Whole Life continues to deliver excellent value. It gives guaranteed life insurance protection with the potential for earnings.
   
   Want to learn more? Check out our new marketing piece: Equimax Participating Whole Life, Strong and Stable Dividends (2075).
   
   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 If low interest rates continue, investment returns will be lower, and this may mean decreases in the dividend scale in the future. Dividend payments are not guaranteed, but they will never be negative.
5. Equitable Life's RSP Contest: Grand prize winners celebrate a future filled with possibilities! The Savings & Retirement team at Equitable Life recently celebrated the successful conclusion of their recent RSP contest with a special cheque presentation to Equitable Life client, Kavitaben Rathod, and her World Financial Group (WFG) advisor, Kinnari Patel, who were both thrilled to be selected as the grand prize winners.
   
   The Grow Your Future contest ran from January 1 to March 1, 2023, and offered clients and advisors a chance to win big by making RSP contributions. It was a hit with clients like Kavitaben as it provided them with a compelling reason to work with their advisors to build their wealth. Clients who made a deposit into an Equitable Life RSP policy between January 1 and March 1, 2023, had the chance to win the $5,000 grand prize. When Kavitaben won the grand prize, her advisor Kinnari won $1,000 as well.
   
   Alex Lucero, Regional Investment Sales Manager, Greater Toronto Area, met with both Kinnari and Kavitaben to present the cheque and took some photos to commemorate the occasion. The collaborative effort put in by the Equitable Life team was highly appreciated.
   
   Kavitaben expressed her sincere gratitude, sharing how surprised, excited, and delighted she was to be chosen as the grand prize winner. She described the experience as “an amazing feeling and our best day in Canada! It was a really fortunate moment for me”.
   
   Kinnari also expressed her appreciation to Equitable Life, Alex, and the entire WFG team for the proud moment and shared that the experience gave her “motivation and inspiration in her future work duties”.
   
   Equitable Life's commitment to offering products, services, and choices that best suit clients' needs was evident through the contest. Clients saw contest messaging through social media and equitable.ca, while advisors saw it on the EquiNet advisor website, through emails, and MGA and WFG newsletters.
    
   Congratulations to everyone who supported the contest and helped make it a success!
   
   
   
   Date posted: April 19, 2023 
    
6. Responding to Ontario’s biosimilar switch initiative

   We are changing coverage for some biologic drugs in Ontario in response to the province’s biosimilar initiative. These changes will help protect your clients’ plans from additional drug costs that may result from this government policy while providing access to equally safe and effective lower-cost biosimilars.

   Ontario’s provincial biosimilar initiative
   Announced in December 2022, Ontario’s biosimilar switch program ends coverage of eight biologic drugs for Ontario residents covered by the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB). The transition to biosimilar versions of these drugs began on March 31, 2023. ODB recipients using these drugs will be required to switch to biosimilar versions of these drugs by December 29, 2023, to maintain their provincial coverage

   Equitable Life’s response
   To ensure this provincial change doesn’t result in your clients paying additional and avoidable drug costs, we are changing coverage in Ontario for most biologic drugs included in the provincial initiative.
   
   Beginning October 1, 2023, plan members in Ontario will no longer be eligible for most originator biologic drugs if they have a condition for which Health Canada has approved a lower cost biosimilar version of the drug.** These plan members will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drug to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life plan. 

   Communicating this change to plan members
   We will inform any affected plan members in early August of the need to switch their medications so that they have ample time to change their prescriptions and avoid any interruptions in treatment or coverage. 

   Will this change impact my clients’ rates?
   Any cost savings associated with the change will be factored in at renewal.

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

   Questions?
   If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

   ** The list of affected drugs is dynamic and will change as Ontario includes more biologic drugs in its biosimilar initiative, as new biosimilars come onto the market, and as we make changes in drug eligibility.
7. Announcing Equitable Life's National Biosimilar Program Beginning March 1, 2024, we are expanding our biosimilar switch program nationally** to protect all our clients and to make our coverage consistent across Canada.
   
   Our national biosimilar initiative will simplify drug plan coverage, replacing our provincial programs with one program across the country.
    

   Why now?

   Over the past few years, most provinces have introduced policies to delist some originator biologic drugs. They require most patients to switch to biosimilar versions of those drugs to be eligible for coverage under their public drug plans. Soon, it is expected that all provincial drug plans will cover only biosimilars.
   
   In response, we have implemented biosimilar switch initiatives in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to align with these provincial changes. Our initiatives are designed to protect our clients from additional drug costs that may result from these government policies while providing access to equally safe and effective lower cost biosimilars.
    

   How will this affect clients’ drug plans?

   Because we have already introduced biosimilar switch initiatives in most provinces, the impact of this change will be minimal. It will primarily affect plan members in provinces or territories where we haven’t already required the switch to biosimilars, and plan members who are taking biosimilars that were not originally included in the switch initiative for their province. 
   
   Regardless of where they live, plan members across Canada will no longer be eligible for most originator biologic drugs if they have a condition for which Health Canada has approved a lower cost biosimilar version of the drug. Plan members already taking the originator biologic will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drug to maintain coverage under their Equitable plan. We will support their transition with education, personalized communication, and resources.
    

   Will this change affect clients' rates?

   Any cost savings associated with the change will be factored in at renewal.

   
   What is the difference between biologics and biosimilars?

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

   Advance notice

   We will be communicating with affected claimants in early December 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 Account Executive.
   
   
   **Excludes plan members in Quebec who participate in a separate provincial program. 
8. Banking Changes
9. Enhancing the Transfer Process: Equitable's New Signature Guarantee Service Equitable^® is making transfers even easier with EZcomplete^®.
   
   This enhancement will help advisors and clients by reducing the number of rejections from other institutions that need a signature guarantee. Reducing transfer rejections means less time and effort for advisors, and faster transfers from other institutions. 
   
   Signature Guarantees
   Equitable will now offer signature guarantees on most transfers requested through EZcomplete. 
   
   When is a signature guarantee not available?
   
   •  For entity owned accounts
   •  If a Power of Attorney is signing on behalf of an owner
   •  If the transferring account has an irrevocable beneficiary 
   
   Watch the quick Identity Check with Persona video or read through instructions below. 
   
   
   
   
   
   To offer a signature guarantee, Equitable first needs to check the identity of all owners using Persona, a third-party service provider.
   The advisor starts by selecting a signature guarantee in EZcomplete. An email link is sent to all proposed owners.
   
   
   Clients can click the link within the email to Persona's verification process.
   They will be prompted to take a picture of their photo ID and a selfie, turning their head slightly left and right by following the prompts.
   Their identity can then be confirmed in seconds.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Sending Transfer Forms:
   •  If all owners' identities are verified, Equitable will send the transfer form with a signature guarantee stamp and the e-signature audit log to the transferring institution.
   •  If ID verification fails, clients will be prompted to try up to three times. If still unsuccessful, the transfer form and e-signature audit log is sent to the transferring institution without the signature guarantee stamp.
   
   Handling Issues:
   •  Advisors’ obligations to verify ID is not affected by this process; ID verification is still required.
   •  If the client times out or loses the email to access Persona, the advisor can resend the link.
   •  If the client’s name or email changes after ID verification, the advisor will need to redo the ID verification with the updated information to get a signature guarantee.
   
   This update strives to make processes smoother and more efficient for everyone. Just another reason to do business with Equitable. When we work together, success is mutual.
   
   For more information or assistance, please contact your Director, Investment Sales.
   
   ​​​​​​Date published: May 7, 2025
10. Gathering paperwork for a new application