Dear Subscriber,
We have made it to mid-November and I feel like we're in a rush to the year end. Trying to get new cases on the books, renewals done and end of year work done, before things slow down. There is no slow down at this time any more...in fact, it's been over 15 years since I remember end of the year pauses. Back then I remember lulls in commission cheques near year end and summer, but the industry seems much more even and consistent from month to month. That does help with budgets and cashflow, but still looking forward to squishing in some downtime if we can.
As always, if you have questions, just reach out.
Dave |
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OUR EVENTS
CGIB COFFEE CHATS
Coffee chats are like a virtual breakfast. Log in and talk about what's on your mind. Best done from a computer, with a camera and a microphone. No CE credits, but also no cost, just show up.
Tuesday November 23rd @ 2pm (EST) December 9th postponed Tuesday December 21st @ 2pm (EST) ____________________________________________________________
CGIB WEBINARS
Let's talk Disability coverage. We'll cover problem areas like earnings definitions, owner needs, GSI top ups, what happens with M&A's, the areas of liability we see created, how to solve them and some of the court cases that employers have been hit with. This will be an interactive session presented by Dave Patriarche & Jason Watt of BCC
No CE credits, but also no cost, just show up.
Wednesday November 17th @ 3:00 to 4:30pm (EST) ____________________________________________________________
Let's talk how to "say" or communicate things. We've had some great discussions in the past month and many times the same type of questions comes up. How would you present that idea? How would you explain that concept? When and how do you say no to a client or prospect?
This will be interactive and in response to your questions, so bring the concept, problem or situation and get the group to provide some ideas.
If this goes well, maybe we'll make it a monthly event?
No CE credits, but also no cost, just show up.
Thursday Nov. 25th 2pm EST ___________________________________________________________
CGIB no longer runs the breakfast meetings, but supports the initiative of the volunteers that do.
Please find the details for your closest location below. Ajax, Cambridge, London, Markham, Oakville, St Catherines, Toronto, Vancouver Island, Windsor or the Virtual National Meeting
Virtual meetings through Zoom may be utilized until COVID19 passes. Please contact the event champions to be added to their lists, and receive more info.
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LOOKING FOR PEOPLE
If you' like to add a job posting FOR FREE, please let me know. ____________________________________________________________ Upcoming CGIB Events: Due to a reduced interest in "in-person" events we will postpone our upcoming events
Toronto - Wednesday November 3rd - POSTPONED to March 2nd Calgary - Tuesday March 29th- POSTPONED Vancouver - Thursday March 31st - POSTPONED
Watch for more more details. |
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GET ON SLACK
The CGIB SLACK channel is a great place to pose questions, share info and learn a ton from your fellow members. The info and discussions that are posted there are unlike anywhere in the industry. Sadly, about 25% of CGIB members are still missing out on all the info being shared. Others have not taken a look at all the documents, videos and information available in MEMBERS ONLY to make their life easier.
NOTE TO ALL SLACK USERS: We now have 40+ channels in Slack to handle different topics. Please take a moment to add these channels to your menu. To do so, just click on the + next to Channels on the top left. Browse the channels and then click JOIN to add each of them. By doing so you won’t be missing some really great info. |
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SUGGESTED READING
We think the information contained below is of great value and encourage you to read the articles and check out the events that interest you. In most cases, these articles and events are not run by CGIB, so please contact the organizers for more information. We take no responsibility for the websites, events, organizations or their content. |
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EMPLOYERS ADDING TO HEAD COUNT Nearly half of employers (47 per cent) expect to add employee head count within the next 12 months, says Gallagher’s ‘2021 Benefits Strategy & Benchmarking Survey – Canada Edition.’ As employers focus on restoring or increasing pre-pandemic staffing levels, it’s clear that they are also seeking to expand existing benefit offerings to retain and compete for talent. In fact, attracting and retaining employees in a competitive workforce (52 per cent) emerged as the top benefits-related challenge in 2021 compared with Gallagher’s 2020 survey, which found that employers prioritized controlling costs (55 per cent). An immediate focus for many employers remains the emotional wellbeing of their workforce. As an underlying support mechanism, nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of employers offer flexible working hours, with more than half now allowing telecommuting. Employers also advanced mental health to top-priority status as employees faced new responsibilities and unexpected changes during the pandemic. As a result, 88 per cent expanded coverage to include other specialist services that fall under the psychology umbrella (social workers, psychotherapists, clinical counsellors, and other specialists). Overall, by 2023 more than half of employers (54 per cent) plan to expand wellbeing and related support programs to enhance total rewards and, in turn, employee and organizational wellbeing.
MANITOBA MODIFIES FORMULARY APPROACH Manitoba is changing the process it uses for modifying the list of drugs on its provincial formularies, says an Eckler ‘GroupNews.’ Amendments to the Pharmaceutical Act and the Prescription Drugs Cost Assistance Act allow updates to the Manitoba Drug Interchangeability Formulary and the Manitoba Drug Benefit Formulary to be made by policy rather than by regulation. This will reduce the time for the government to add or remove a drug to a formulary and be more responsive when new medications are made available or when there are drug shortages. As a result, benefit plan sponsors and members could experience savings as new drugs would be covered more quickly by the public plan as Manitoba Pharmacare is first payor for drugs.
BENEFITS ATTRACT CANDIDATES Despite a tight labour market, only 52 per cent of job descriptions mention benefits, highlighting a missed opportunity to attract more candidates as including benefits leads to a 22 per cent increase in apply rate, says Appcast’s ‘Job Ad Content: How Benefits Impact Candidate Attraction’ report. It also shows the offer of regular, incremental bonuses proved to boost apply rates by over 150 per cent, which is more than any other benefit. However, efforts to entice candidates with signing bonuses and stressing behavioural health benefits had minimal impact on apply rates. In fact, it says pet insurance positively impacted apply rates by 37 per cent. Overall, job ads that mentioned none of the benefits had an aggregate apply rate of five per cent. Job ads with one or more of benefits had an aggregate apply rate of 6.1 per cent (22 per cent higher). In a job seekers’ market, including benefits within job ads presents an opportunity for employers to improve candidate attraction, it says.
GUIDELINE ISSUED ON COVID TERMINATIONS Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) has issued a guideline for employers targeting their employees who violate COVID-19 vaccination policies, says a Borden Ladner Gervais LLP ‘Newsletter.’ If an employee is absent from work due to the refusal to comply with a workplace’s COVID-19 vaccination policy, ESDC specifies the codes that must be entered on the record of employment (ROE). These indicate whether an employee refuses to comply with a mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy or is suspended or fired for not complying with the policy. If either code is used in the ROE, ESDC reserves the right to contact the employee to determine if the employer has adopted and clearly communicated a mandatory vaccination policy against COVID-19 to all employees; informed employees that the violation of the policy permanently breaks the employment relationship; assessed whether the application of the policy is reasonable in the context of the workplace; and provided exemptions for employees who refuse to comply with the policy. |
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From, “Pay attention, I want you to buy what I made.” to…
“I’ve been paying attention, and I think I can offer you what you want.”
My Take on Seths Post
Put another way...this reminds of of the old adage of "talk less...listen more". Why try and fit a client into what you're comfortable or familiar with, when we just could ask more questions, listen to their responses, and then suggest a solution that really fits them. |
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EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
ONLINE CE CREDITS
Looking for benefits dedicated online CE courses? Want to provide your admin and support staff with basic knowledge? Want to dig into something more detailed for your benefits/insurance business? Business Career College (BCC) has an extensive catalogue of online CE courses with a number of group benefits specific courses covering topics ranging from contractual concerns, plan designs, and underwriting requirements, to product specifics and integration with government benefits. Courses consist of narrated videos with short, online quizzes. The full catalogue includes over 60 courses, podcasts, and videos covering topics from the world of insurance, investments, financial planning, taxation, and ethics with a focus on technical content and real-world application. Courses are accredited for the maximum categories of credits and can include provincial Life and A&S credits, FP Canada, Advocis, and more! Use code CGIB on registration for your first three months free! CLICK HERE |
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'The Importance of Supporting Plan Members with Access to Vaccines for Preventable Diseases'
Mapol Inc. invites you to attend a complimentary webinar sponsored by GSK Pharma Canada.
The webinar will be held on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
The Speakers are:
Pavithra Ravinatarajan Practicing Pharmacist and Founder & CEO of Pavithra Consulting Inc.
Johnny Ma President & COO of Mapol Inc.
The Learning Objectives are to: Recognize the impact of shingles on health and productivity in the workplace. Understand how you can prevent shingles by providing better access and coverage to vaccines in private payer plans. Demonstrate the low cost impact of covering the shingles vaccine in a private payer study.
Please follow the below steps to register:
Fill in the required information on the registration page, then click "Register."
Closer to the webinar date, you will receive a registration confirmation email with the webinar login details.
An application for 1 CE credit will be submitted to the Institute for Advanced Financial Education. Individual CE applications are not submitted to any other regulatory body (i.e. AIC, ICM, CSF, IIROC, etc.).
Please note, this complimentary webinar is limited to invited guests including insurers, PBMs, TPAs, benefits consultants, and employers. ____________________________________________________________
GLOBAL BENEFITS EXAMINED |
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Need help? Have questions? Looking for something?
Reach out to CGIB - Dave Patriarche - dave@cgib.ca - 905-886-9203 |
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