Site Search
616 results for access link MAKEMUR.COM Looking to pay a court officer to let me make an extra call
- Give the Gift of a Head Start
- About
- About
- About
-
Reminder: Deadline to opt out of Alberta biosimilar coverage changes
In November 2020, we announced via eNews that on March 15, 2021, we are changing coverage for some biologic drugs in Alberta in response to the province’s Biosimilar Initiative. These changes will help protect your client’s plans from additional drug costs while still providing access to equally safe and effective biosimilars.
Do my clients need to take any action?
Traditional groups who wish to opt out of this change and maintain coverage of these originator biologics for Alberta plan members can submit a policy amendment. Amendments must be submitted no later than January 15, 2021.
Advisors with myFlex Benefits clients who wish to maintain coverage of these originator biologics for Alberta plan members should speak to their myFlex Sales Manager to confirm their eligibility to opt out of this change.
Otherwise, no action is required on their part. Plan members taking these biologics will be contacted directly to allow them ample time to change their prescription. Any cost savings associated with the change will be factored in at renewal.
Questions?
We have compiled a list of frequently asked questions to help you understand Alberta’s Biosimilar Initiative. If you have a question that isn’t answered here, please contact your Equitable Life Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.
-
Deposits to the Fidelity Special Situations mutual fund are being limited but the segregated fund is
Fidelity Investments® recently said they would no longer accept deposits from new investors into the Fidelity® Special Situations Fund. This notice however does not affect Equitable Life® clients.
The Special Situations Fund will continue to be open to new and existing Equitable Life clients. This includes clients with Pivotal Select™, Pivotal Solutions* or Personal Investment Portfolio segregated funds contracts.
Why is Fidelity limiting access to the mutual fund?
This award-winning mutual fund has grown significantly and now has $3.6 billion of managed assets. To preserve the integrity of the fund’s investment strategy, Fidelity® decided to limit inflows to the fund. Limiting the amount of managed assets held within the fund allows the fund’s portfolio manager to focus on what he does best - finding special situation investment opportunities and capitalizing on positive change within companies and industries across Canada and around the world.
If you like the Special Situations mutual fund, you will value the Equitable Life Fidelity® Special Situations segregated fund. Segregated funds are similar to mutual funds but offer different features and guarantees. To learn about these features, check out the Investment Advantage. To learn more about the Special Situations segregated fund, click here.
For more information about Equitable Life’s segregated funds, speak to your Regional Investment Sales Manager or visit our segregated funds page on EquiNet®.
References:
Fidelity’s press release announcing the limited fund closure
Fidelity® Special Situations portfolio management strategy, webinar featuring Mark Schmehl, Portfolio Manager.
*No Load, Deferred Sales Charge, Pivotal Solutions II
® or ™ denotes a trademark of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada, except as noted below.
Fidelity and Fidelity Investments are registered trademarks of 483A Bay Street Holdings LP. Used with permission. -
Changes to coverage of Humira in BC
BC Pharmacare recently announced it is adding Humira to the list of drugs included in its ongoing initiative to switch patients to biosimilar versions of high-cost biologics. Patients taking Humira for most conditions will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drug by Oct. 7, 2021 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 Humira for plan members in BC. Effective Oct. 7, 2021, claimants currently taking Humira will be required to switch to a biosimilar version of the drug to maintain coverage under their Equitable Life plan.
We will be communicating this change to plan administrators later this week. And we will be communicating with affected claimants in early August 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.
-
Manage more details within Contract Delivery for New Business applications
We are excited to announce further enhancements to our eDelivery process to empower you, the advisor, the ability to manage client details more easily within Contract Delivery.
Effective January 15, 2022, advisors will need to create a Password within Contract Delivery when choosing “eDelivery” as the contract delivery method and provide the password to the client to use as their password:
The Password must be between 4 and 100 alpha/numeric characters, and cannot be the Policy number. For multiple signers the password (and email address) must be unique per each signer.
Advisors can now edit and/or update an email address within Contract Delivery, in the event of a bounce back or email change, to keep the eDelivery process moving and avoid delays in processing time. If a lock out occurs, advisors can trigger a resend of the signing email once they add a new valid email address in Contract Delivery. Simply click the pencil icon beside the Email field to enter the valid email address:
Another new feature- in the event a client has declined, the advisor will get an email from Equitable Life®. Click through to EquiNet® within the email to view the message within Contract Delivery that the client provided as the reason for decline under a new “Declined Details” section. This enables you to connect with the client to proceed with the sale by discussing the reasons for decline with them directly.
Also new for clients with this enhancement, policy owners of a policy created after January 15 will be able to see a PDF copy of their policy within client access. Note: this PDF copy is as the policy was originally issued.
Resources: -
Equitable Life Savings & Retirement Webinar Series features Global Equity Investing Using a First Pr
In 2022, Equitable Life’s® S&R team will continue to spotlight various aspects of our competitive fund lineup and product offerings. Each webinar in the series features a new topic. This series gives advisors an opportunity to:
• learn more about various products and product features,
• hear from industry professionals,
• learn about investment strategies; and so much more.
This month, Equitable Life welcomes Michael Hatcher, CFA, Head of Global Equities and Director of Research for the Invesco Canada Equity team. Join your host Taylor Stavenjord, Regional Vice President and Invesco Canada.
Equitable Life is pleased to highlight access to Invesco Global Companies Fund, Invesco International Companies Fund, and Invesco Europlus Fund in the Pivotal Select™ segregated fund lineup.
Learn more
Continuing Education Credits
This webinar 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. -
Equitable Life Dynamic Global Real Estate Fund Select: More than an inflation hedge
Some clients may be missing out on the benefits of real estate investments. In addition to providing an inflation hedge, investing in real estate can help to diversify an investment portfolio and manage overall risk.
Check out Equitable Life Dynamic Global Real Estate Fund Select in this issue of Fund Focus.
The fund aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation and income by investing in publicly listed real estate companies across a spectrum of property types and geographies.
Reasons to Invest:- Access to high-quality and diversified real estate assets through public companies from around the world
- Real estate is an asset class highly sought after by pension funds and institutional investors
- The underlying Dynamic Global Real Estate Fund is the oldest real estate mutual fund in Canada (1996)
- A key pillar is protecting capital – manager focus is on providing downside protection
- Competitive MER of 2.64%*
Date posted: April 14, 2023
* effective December 31, 2022
™ or ® denote registered trademarks of The Equitable Life Insurance Company of Canada.