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Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin - September 2020
In this issue:
Enhancements to Equitable EZClaim Mobile
New reports available on EquitableHealth.ca* Indicates content that will be shared with your clients.
Enhancements to Equitable EZClaim® Mobile*
We’ve updated our Equitable EZClaim mobile app to process vision claims faster, to provide a new option for submitting documents and to increase password security.
Faster vision claims processing and payment
Equitable Life now provides faster processing of vision claims submitted via EZClaim Mobile.
This means plan members can find out the status of their vision claim almost instantaneously. And, for approved claims, they will receive payment even sooner – often in as little as 24 hours.
In order to allow for instant processing and faster payment, plan members will be prompted to enter some additional information, including their practitioner’s name, the date of the expense, the type of expense and amount of the expense when submitting their claims for these services.
Equitable Life plan members can submit all vision claims via Equitable EZClaim, including coordination of benefits and Health Care Spending Account claims.
Submit documents from a mobile device
We have added our Document Submission tool to EZClaim Mobile so plan members can conveniently submit documents directly from their mobile device. Applications, change forms, statement of health forms and more can all be easily uploaded whenever and wherever they are.
Improved security with stronger passwords
To help you, your clients and plan members better protect personal information, we have increased the maximum length of passwords for both EZClaim Online and EZClaim Mobile from 12 to 32 characters. This longer character limit makes it easier to create stronger and more secure passwords.
There is no change for plan members, plan administrators or advisors. All existing passwords will continue to function. However, if you choose to update your password you will now be able to choose longer passwords or passphrases.
Why should I change my password?
Changing your password frequently helps keep your information safe. The longer and more random the password, the more secure it is. To improve security even more, a passphrase is recommended.
A passphrase is a series of words or other text used like a password. Because it is much longer, a passphrase is more secure. Although the words in the phrase may be meaningful to you and easy to remember, they can be random enough that the full phrase is difficult for someone else to guess. It’s even better if you use numbers or other characters in your passphrase.
Your passphrase should be:
- Long enough to be hard to guess;
- Not a famous quotation;
- Easy to remember and type; and
- Not used in multiple places.
To change your password:
- Log in to EquitableHealth.ca
- Click on My Information > User Profile
- Click Edit
- Confirm your information and enter your new password
- Click Save
We will be announcing this enhancement to plan members on EquitableHealth.ca.
New reports available on EquitableHealth.ca*
Plan administrators and advisors with reporting access can now download three additional reports any time via the plan administrator and advisor websites on EquitableHealth.ca:
- Premium and Tax – This report provides a breakdown of premiums and taxes paid per plan member for any specific time period for all applicable benefits.
- Occupation and Earnings – This report provides current plan member earnings and occupation information and gives plan administrators an efficient way to report updates to us.
- Employee listing – This report lists all plan members’ information, including name, certificate number, date of birth, province, occupation and salary, as well as benefit coverage currently in place and HCSA allocations.
These reports can be downloaded in Excel format for easy updating, filtering or sorting.
For more information, please contact your Client Relationship Specialist.
*Indicates content that will be shared with your clients
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Equitable Life of Canada ends 2020 in a position of financial strength
Equitable Life of Canada is pleased to report that our strategic approach continued to serve us well in 2020, despite operating in a global pandemic.
Equitable Life, one of Canada’s largest mutual life insurance companies, closed out 2020 with strong earnings and solid growth.
The Company reported earnings of $153 million, equating to a return on policyholders’ equity of 16%. This result was driven by strong sales, investment performance, positive impacts from favourable expense ratios and reserve assumption changes.
“There is no doubt the global pandemic has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on the lives of Canadians and created challenges for all of us in 2020 that we could never have envisioned,” said Ron Beettam, Equitable Life’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Thanks to the resiliency and commitment of our entire team, we effectively responded to unfavourable impacts caused by the pandemic, including market volatility, and continued to achieve a high growth rate on most key measures, ending 2020 in a position of financial strength.”
Equitable Life reported premiums and deposits of $1.7 billion in 2020, contributing to $6.0 billion of assets under administration. This growth was supported by very strong sales during the pandemic, as more Canadians turned to insurance to protect the financial security of their families. Dividends to participating policyholders increased by 24% over the prior year.
The Individual Insurance business reported 2020 sales of $149 million, reflecting the third consecutive year of double-digit sales growth. Savings & Retirement reported sales of $401 million, driven by sales of segregated funds. Group Benefits delivered sales of $46 million, despite competitive industry pricing strategies and the impact the pandemic had on businesses.
Equitable Life finished the year with an impressive LICAT ratio of 166%, well above the regulatory target and one of the highest in the industry. This capital result demonstrates that we are well-positioned to continue meeting our commitments to our policyholders. In addition, DBRS Limited (DBRS Morningstar) upgraded our Financial Strength rating to A (high) with Stable Trends in September.
“While we don’t yet know what future impacts the global pandemic could have on our business, we know we can face the future with confidence,” said Beettam. “I am very proud of all that we have accomplished together, especially throughout this unpredictable year, and I know the Company is very well positioned to meet the challenges ahead and will continue building on those achievements by focusing on organic and profitable growth across all lines of business, with a continued emphasis on meeting the needs of our policyholders and distribution partners.”
2020 Financial Highlights
- Net income of $153 million, for a return on policyholders' equity of 16%
- Capital strength, as measured by the LICAT ratio, ended the year at 166%
- Participating policyholders' equity surpassed $1 billion
- Premiums and deposits increased by 6.8% to $1.7 billion
- Sales of $149 million in Individual Insurance, $401 million in Savings and Retirement, and $46 million in Group Benefits
- Assets under administration grew 17.6% to $6 billion
- Benefits and payments to policyholders of $820 million
- Dividends to participating policyholders increased by 24% to $61 million
About Equitable Life of Canada
Canadians have turned to Equitable Life since 1920 to protect what matters most. We work with independent advisors across Canada to offer individual insurance, savings & retirement, and group benefits solutions to meet your needs.
Equitable Life is not your typical financial services company. We have the knowledge, experience and ability to find solutions that work for you. We’re friendly, caring and interested in helping. As a mutual company, we are not driven by shareholder pressures for quarterly results. This allows us to focus on management strategies that foster prudent long-term growth, continuity and stability. We are dedicated to meeting our commitments to customers – now and in the future.
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Equitable Life Group Benefits Bulletin - April 2021
In this issue:
- Alberta biosimilar coverage changes*
- New Humira biosimilars approved*
- Saskatchewan and Manitoba delist biologics for some conditions*
Update: Alberta biosimilar coverage changes take effect*
In our November 2020 edition of eNews, we announced we are changing coverage for some biologic drugs in Alberta in response to the province’s Biosimilar Initiative.
As of March 15, 2021, several originator biologic drugs are no longer covered for plan members in Alberta. Plan members taking these biologics are required to switch to the biosimilar versions of these drugs to maintain eligibility under their Equitable Life plan.
Affected drugs and conditions – Remicade remains eligible
We initially announced that Remicade would be among the biologic drugs no longer covered in Alberta.
We have since determined a method to maintain ongoing eligibility of Remicade while reducing or eliminating any Coordination of Benefit risk associated with the provincial change. As such, Remicade will continue to be eligible for coverage.
Communication to plan members and plan sponsors
We communicated directly with affected claimants in January 2021 to allow them ample time to change their prescriptions and avoid any interruptions in their treatment or their coverage. The transition to biosimilars, when required, has been smooth and continues to be successful.
Plan sponsors were notified even earlier to allow ample time to opt-out of this change. The vast majority have accepted the changes and are benefiting from a smooth plan member transition.
Looking ahead
We are one of the few insurers taking a comprehensive and proactive response to the Alberta Biosimilars Initiative. We will continue to monitor developments related to the coverage of biologics in Alberta and other provinces and will continue to take steps to protect your clients’ drug plans.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this change, please contact your Group Account Executive or myFlex Sales Manager.
New Humira biosimilars approved*
Beginning in February, Health Canada approved seven new biosimilars for Humira, a biologic drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease and many other conditions. Most of these biosimilars have already been launched and are available in pharmacies.
Humira is one of the highest ranked drugs in terms of total annual cost. All the Humira biosimilars are priced 40% lower than Humira and represent a savings opportunity for private drug plans.
BC Pharmacare has already announced that, effective October 7, 2021, all claimants for most conditions will only be eligible for Humira biosimilars.
We have implemented national controls to ensure the use of Humira biosimilars for new claimants. As with all biosimilar programs at Equitable Life, they will continuously evolve such that our clients are provided appropriate risk protection.
Saskatchewan and Manitoba change coverage for some biologics*
The Saskatchewan government recently announced that, effective March 1, 2021, new patients will no longer be eligible for coverage of Enbrel under its public plan. New patients will only be eligible for biosimilar versions of Enbrel.
Similarly, the Manitoba government announced changes to its tiered biologics program. Currently, claimants are expected to try biosimilars listed under Tier 1 of the program before they can be considered for coverage under the public plan for either Enbrel or Remicade, which are Tier 2 drugs. Effective April 1, 2021, Brenzys, an Enbrel biosimilar, has been added to Tier 1 for some additional medical conditions. As well, Avsola has been added as another Tier 1 biosimilar for Remicade. These changes further expand the Manitoba government’s utilization of biosimilars as preferred therapies over originator biologics.
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.
Equitable Life actively monitors and investigates all biosimilar policy changes and the ongoing evolution of biosimilar drugs entering Canada. We will keep you informed of any impact on private drug plans and how we are responding.
*Indicates content that will be shared with your clients