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  8. Update: Improved Employee Assistance from Homewood Health

    As we announced in June, we are expanding our relationship with Homewood Health to help you meet the mental health and wellness needs of your employees and their families. Beginning Oct. 1, 2019, Homewood will be the new provider of both our Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) and our online health and wellness services.

    Following the transition to Homewood, plan members will benefit from added features:

    • Signing in to Homewood Health online allows the platform to customize content unique to your interests.
    • All plan members will have access to a Health Risk Assessment to help identify health and wellness barriers.
    • i-Volve, Homewood's online cognitive behavioural therapy program is available for all plan members to help them manage anxiety and depression.

    Learn more about Homewood Health and how they will be providing your plan members with exceptional EFAP and online health and wellness resources.

    What does the transition to Homewood mean for you and your plan members?

    We will be working with you in the coming months to facilitate the transition and support your employees. Most importantly, there will be no disruption of service delivery to employees who are currently in short-term counselling with our current EFAP provider.

    The transition timeline

    Groups without an EFAP

    Online health and wellness resources will be available through EquitableHealth.ca just as they are now. Here's what you can expect in the coming months.

    September   

    • We will send plan administrators an email with more details about the resources available to assist in the transition, including:
      • How to register for Homewood Health online
      • A video orientation for plan members

    October

    • October 1st – plan members can access the Homewood online resources! They simply need to visit homeweb.ca/Equitable to sign up and create their unique login.

    The transition timeline

    Groups with an EFAP

    We’ve created a helpful infographic that outlines the steps involved in the transition to the Homewood Health EFAP over the coming months. Please save or print it for easy reference. Below are some of the highlights.

    August

    • We will send plan administrators an email with official notice that the enrolment certificate for our current EAP provider, LifeWorks, will terminate on Sept. 30, 2019, and that Homewood Health Inc. will be our new Employee Assistance Program provider as of Oct. 1.

    September   

    • Homewood will send you a welcome email, including how to access the EFAP, who to contact for support and where to find resources to help share the news with plan members.
    • Homewood will follow up directly to answer any questions you may have.
    • Homewood will begin offering orientation and training sessions for both plan administrators and plan members. These will be running throughout the fall so you can attend at your convenience. 

    October

    • October 1st – plan members can access the Homewood EFAP and online resources! They simply need to visit homeweb.ca/Equitable to sign up and create their unique login.
    • Orientation and training sessions will continue to be available for both plan administrators and plan members throughout October.

    Learn More

    The resources listed below answer common questions about Homewood and our EFAP transition:

    If you have a question that is not addressed here, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.

  9. Equitable Life Group Benefits COVID-19 Update

    The test of a great partner is one who stands tall when you and your clients need to rely on them most. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we thought you might find it helpful to have a summary of where we are during this crisis.

    You can download this PDF version to refer to when meeting with your clients.

    We are here with you and for you

    We’ve taken several steps to support you, your clients and their plan members during this crisis, including:

    • Providing premium refunds for insured, non-refund Health and Dental benefits;
    • Waiving the waiting period for short-term disability claimants who tested positive for COVID-19;
    • Extending out-of-country travel coverage for plan members who were unable to return to Canada;
    • Providing increased flexibility for premium payments; and
    • Keeping you and your clients informed with timely Q&As and announcements, webinars, and insights into the impact of COVID-19 on benefits plans.

    As well, to commemorate our 100th Anniversary this year, we donated $4.5 million to purchase and install a new MRI for Grand River Hospital. And we donated $50,000 – $10,000 each – to five charities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec. For more information about our celebrations, check out our website at www.equitable100.ca.

    We have adjusted our business to become digital

    Our business is near 100% digital, so the vast majority of our employees are now working remotely from home and are fully functional.  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.

    We pride ourselves on our customer service

    In 2019, our dedication to customer service was recognized with outstanding survey results.

    • In a 2019 survey of customers from 15 life insurance companies,1 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 2 ranked Equitable Life in the top two insurers across all categories.

    For 2020, we continue to deliver service at the same level with no disruptions during this crisis. Our Customer Care Centre remains open to support plan members and can be reached at 1.800.265.4556. And our Client Relationship Specialists are available for Plan Administrator questions and support.

    We are financially strong and stable

    We remain financially strong and continue to focus on meeting the needs of Canadians. At the end of the first quarter, our Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio is at 152.5%, well above our goal and the regulatory requirement.

    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. Please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager if you have questions or need assistance.

     

     

    1  LIMRA CxP Customer Experience Benchmarking Program, Life Insurance In-Force Experience 2019

    2 NMG Consulting’s Canadian Group Benefits Survey 2019

  10. Insights from a pandemic: COVID-19 and group benefits plans

    We’ve received numerous questions about the impact of COVID-19 and what it will mean for benefits plans in the months ahead. Below is a summary of what we’re seeing so far. In the coming weeks, we’ll explore each of these topics in greater depth.

    Disability

    Initially, as COVID-19 started to spread, we saw STD claims ramp up quickly. Since then, we’ve seen the number of COVID-19-related STD claims slow significantly. As for LTD, we believe both the incidence and duration of those claims will increase in both the short term and medium term due to COVID-19.

    Health and Dental Claims

    We saw an overall spike in the volume and paid amounts for drug claims in March as plan members rushed to stock up on their medications. This was followed by a drop in April after most provinces put 30-day refill limits in place. One exception was claims for asthma drugs which surged in March but had no drop in April. Overall, the April plunge will be short-lived; drug costs have already begun to rise in May.

    While paramedical and dental claims are down, we are seeing an increase in claims for virtual treatments and emergency dental services. We expect that claims will spike once the current pandemic restrictions are lifted. We’ve already started to see claims rise in provinces that are allowing health providers to re-open.

    Despite the shift to more virtual services, we haven’t seen an increase in fraudulent activity. But we continue to be vigilant. Our investigative practices – verifying with the plan member that they received the treatment and have a valid receipt, and that the practitioner has treatment notes – remain the same whether treatment is provided in person or virtually.

    Technology

    During this time of physical distancing, people are looking for ways to interact with their providers virtually. Fortunately, our business model is almost entirely electronic, and we have several convenient digital options available for plan members and plan sponsors. Our focus in recent weeks has been to remind clients and plan members about these tools and make it as easy as possible for them to activate and use them. And we are continually adding functionality that will allow us to serve our customers even better.

    Mental Health/Wellness

    Usage of i-Volve, Homewood’s online cognitive behavioural therapy tool, increased significantly in March before levelling back down in April and May. And while EFAP cases fell in April and early-May, the number of cases has begun to climb in recent weeks, particularly for anxiety. In the coming weeks and months, we expect an eventual increase in marital and family issues, as well as depression. We’ve also seen an increase in mental-health-related prescriptions.

    Plan Design

    It’s too early to predict how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact benefits plan design and how it will change in the coming months. We would love to get your feedback and insights about how benefit plans will evolve and what new features or provisions they should include.

    Please share your thoughts and suggestions with your Group Account Executive or myFlex Marketing Manager. Or, you can email your ideas to GroupCommunications@equitable.ca.