Dear Subscriber,
As we approach the end of the year, I like to stop and recall how lucky I am to have chosen the benefits business, and how fortuitous it was that CGIB happened along the way, and you with it.
When I started the breakfast group in 2003, I thought it might last a few years at best and we are now in our 18th. During this time I have learned so much and owe you a great debt. You've shared your good cases and bad, the experiences you want to repeat and those you hope to avoid, interesting problems & solutions as well as your support both in slack, at our events and even my personal life. Thank you.
It's been an unusual year (actually almost 2), and I can't wait to see you and catch up when we return to regular in-person events and some sailing too.!
At this festive time of year we like to say thank you for the part you play in our business, and our life overall. Each year and on behalf of our clients and friends, we make a donation in lieu of gifts and cards. This year our donation has been made to Hands Across the Nations, a charity entirely run entirely by volunteers.
• They work with small rural communities in South America and Africa to provide development assistance. Their motto...We aren’t saviours, we’re partners.
• Their method is simple. They work with locals to build self-reliant communities through project-based initiatives. They partner with community leaders and help communities form committees to ensure the projects are sustainable. They focus on creating lasting change to permanently enhance the overall quality of life and standard of living.
We thank you for your continued support of CGIB. We hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas, a great holiday season and a safe and happy new year.
Dave |
|
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 December 21st @ 2pm (EST) Thursday January 6th @2pm (EST) Tuesday January 11th @ 2pm (EST) - CGIB CHIP plan Tuesday January 18th @ 2pm (EST) Thursday February 3rd @2pm (EST) ____________________________________________________________
CGIB WEBINARS
I have posted the notes, LTD excel sheet and recording of the LTD presentation we held earlier this month. They are all in the appropriate sections under the Members Only tab when you sign in. ___________________________________________________________
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.
____________________________________________________________
LOOKING FOR PEOPLE
O&A is a leading consulting and brokerage firm that helps global companies establish and manage comprehensive employee benefit solutions for their Canadian businesses. We have been in business for over 22 years and have grown every year since inception. Our team currently consists of over 25 staff members in various roles, assisting over 400 corporate clients across Canada and managing partner relationships in over 150 countries worldwide. We are recruiting for 2 Senior Account Management roles that require high levels of service and technical skills:
- Providing guidance and advise on trends, regulatory requirements and market practices
- Benchmarking and client introductions
- Group benefit implementations
- Group retirement implementations
- Regular and annual reporting (experience, renewal, benchmarking, governance, etc.)
- Addressing client inquiries and managing those relationships
- Maintaining in house CRM
- Other tasks and projects as required
Steven Owen, CPA President c. 705.994.3099 ____________________________________________________________ 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. |
|
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. |
|
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. |
|
COVID IMPACTED CLAIMS The first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic noticeably impacted individual insurance claims across Canada, says an analysis from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA). Data was collected on exposure, total insurance claims, and claims related to COVID-19 at an aggregate level monthly, covering both individual and group lines of business. While life insurance companies weren’t able to consistently collect data on cause of death, most were able to provide data on COVID-related deaths. A total of 3,244 reported individual claims were identified with COVID-19 as cause of death in 2020 and 1,678 more were reported from January 2021 to May 2021. While very few claims were identified as due to COVID-19 in January to March 2020, aggregate individual claims for that period exceeded the comparable monthly equivalent amounts during the same months in 2019, which the CIA says makes it possible that life insurance claims were seeing a COVID impact even before April. As the second wave of COVID-19 in Canada receded, the trend in individual insurance claims moderated to a level more consistent with that seen in 2019. Consistent with the pattern of excess deaths in the overall Canadian population, individual insurance claims increased in May 2021, but still remained below the elevated level seen in 2020.
DIABETES REMAIN SILENT PANDEMIC Like many chronic conditions, diabetes has taken a bit of a back seat during the COVID-19 pandemic as healthcare providers focused on other priorities. Yet diabetes remains a silent pandemic that is costing employers and insurers millions of dollars a year in lost productivity, disability claims, and drug spending, says a Telus Health ‘Benefits Hub.’ The incidence of diabetes did not slow down in 2021: a staggering one in three Canadians has diabetes or prediabetes, and more than 20 people in Canada are diagnosed with the disease every hour of every day. Employers should note that over half of all new cases are in people who are of working age. Driving this growth are three factors: obesity, lack of exercise, and age. Approximately 60 per cent of Canadians are overweight and half of Canadians over the age of 12 are inactive – something that may be getting even worse with the growing trend of working from home. Yet awareness of the risks and early warning signs of the disease tends to remain low. The result is benefits plans are facing drug costs that are four times higher for diabetes claims than for mental health claims. There are many ways that people living with diabetes can manage their health, including lifestyle changes and new technology that provides rapid or continuous glucose monitoring. But employers can also play a big role helping to tackle Canada’s diabetes problem. A good place to start is by raising awareness in the workplace about the risk factors associated with diabetes and leveraging resources like the government of Canada’s free online assessment to help employees assess their risks for the disease.
POOLING THRESHOLDS INCREASE IN QUEBEC There will be some increases to pooling thresholds per group size for Quebec groups with more than 125 members in 2022, say an Eckler ‘GroupNews.’ On average, a moderate increase of 4.4 per cent will be applied for annual factors without dependents, with a few group sizes seeing the annual factors reduce by 2.5 per cent to 2.9 per cent. For annual factors with dependents, a significant increase in pooling costs is expected, leading to an average increase in annual factors of 30 per cent. This increase for certificates with dependents is mainly explained by a new SCAMQ (Société de compensation en assurance médicaments du Québec) study that led to a different ratio between coverage with and without dependents. Insurers are starting to factor in those changes in expected pooling costs for the upcoming 2022 renewals, so plan sponsors can expect an increase in required drug pooling costs.
EMPLOYEES CAN DISCONNECT The Ontario government is helping employees disconnect from the office to create a better work-life balance. It has passed the ‘Working for Workers Act’ which requires Ontario businesses with 25 employees or more to have a written policy about employees’ rights when it comes to disconnecting from their job at the end of the day. These policies could include expectations about response time for eMails and encouraging employees to turn on out-of-office notifications when they aren’t working. The act, once it receives royal assent, requires employers before March 1 each year to ensure it has a written policy in place for all employees with respect to disconnecting from work.
QUEBEC PROVIDES INFERTILITY COVERAGE Quebec will provide coverage under the Quebec Health Insurance Plan for up to six artificial inseminations and a single IVF cycle, subject to certain conditions, says an Eckler ‘GroupNews.’ Changes to the refundable tax credit for the treatment of infertility include the removal of certain eligibility requirements, including age limits for women seeking treatment; allowing for unlimited IVF cycles to be completed, subject to guidelines provided by the Collège des Médecins; increasing the number of embryos that may be transferred from one to two; and the addition of artificial insemination treatments to the list of eligible expenses for the refundable tax credit. The changes to the refundable tax credit will allow more couples to access infertility treatments. Quebec residents must prove eligibility under the RAMQ (Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec) with some services related to infertility treatments still at the patient’s expense. |
|
Outsized rewards go to people who figure out how to master a skill or a point of view, and then commit to doing it again and again.
This insight helps us with two things: - if you want a certain kind of success, it will require obsession plus the good luck to find the right thing to obsess about.
- be careful not to confuse being very good at a simple game with character or wisdom or good judgment. They might go together, but they don’t always.
My Take on Seths Post
Put another way...It's Seth saying the same old thing.
Pick a thing and do it very well. But that's not all, you also need to bring your very best self it. Add great value, high moral standards and maintain an integrity level above all others. It may sound hard, but becomes easier over time. |
|
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! |
|
Earn a CE Credit for On-Demand Webinar: "Considerations for an Inclusive and Sustainable National Drug Funding Model for Rare Disease Drug Treatments"
The Mapol webinar entitled "Considerations for an Inclusive and Sustainable National Drug Funding Model for Rare Disease Drug Treatments" is available on-demand. Please see below for an infographic on the results of the polling questions from the webinar, which originally aired on September 28, 2021.
Click here to register for the on-demand webinar if you have not already. This on-demand webinar qualifies for 1 CE credit from the Institute for Advanced Financial Education. Individuals who would like a CE certificate are required to: - View the on-demand webinar in its entirety by December 3, 2021.
- Respond to the polling questions.
- Fill out the post-webinar survey, indicating that you wish to receive a CE credit.
If you've already registered for this webinar and wish to earn a CE credit or watch it again, the on-demand login instructions were sent to you via email on October 1, 2021. We've extended the window to earn a CE credit until December 3, 2021.
Please feel free to contact us at lwong@mapol.ca if you have any questions. ____________________________________________________________ PACE OF CHANGE EXAMINED |
|
Need help? Have questions? Looking for something?
Reach out to CGIB - Dave Patriarche - dave@cgib.ca - 905-886-9203 |
|
|
