Is an insurance policy that pays the death benefit upon the accidental death of the insured, or a set amount if the insured sustains a catastrophic injury resulting in the loss or use of; a limb, vision, hearing or speech. This policy is also purposed to supplement the life insurance as there are limitations with certain types of accidents.

Like Life Insurance the premium paid by the employer is a taxable benefit to the employee.

They are generally non-cash compensation plans provided by employers, for the purpose of protecting the employee’s health and financial welfare. They can be tax-free, or taxable either in premiums paid or benefits received. The employer may share the cost of these plans with an employee or choose to pay for all the cost of these plans. The cash component generally reimburses an employee for cost associated with obtaining health care, over and above, what the government provides. Where the government programs do not provide care, a Group Benefits Plan can offer 1^st dollar expense reimbursement compensation. Further, if an employer also arranges for income protection, an employee’s financial well-being can also be ensured through the replacement of lost income due to illness or injury.

The scope of Group benefit Plans has expanded to sometimes include services or facilities provided within the physical location of the company. These services can include exercise programs or facilities, nutritional offerings, company provided health services, personal and financial counselling, daycare facilities to name a few.

Medical benefits are insurance for the cost of medical treatments. These plans can be customized to suit an employer’s costs based upon the extent of coverage they choose to offer. These plans are designed to be comprehensive in the extent of services they provide, and are as the technical name implies, an extension of the provincial health plans all Canadian citizens and landed immigrants enjoy. Typically, the Extended or Supplemental Health Benefits will cover Prescription Drugs, Services and Supplies for chronic conditions or specific injuries, improved accommodations for hospital stays and may even offer reimbursement for vison care expenses. Further should you need on-going treatments for physical or mental health conditions, the services offered by Certified Health Practitioners such as Chiropractors, Massage Therapists, Mental Health Counselling, or Physiotherapists, to name just a few, are covered. These plans also extend emergency coverage to “out of Province” and “out of country” for those who contract an illness or sustain an injury while travelling and need medical care, hospitalization, or drug treatment. Employers can offer this as single cover (employee only), or extend the plan for dependants (spouse, children). Typically, employers cover all family members. You may share the cost with your employees, offer partial reimbursement of incurred claims, or set dollar limits as to the amount of claims which will be covered.

For example: an employer may choose to offer coverage for extended health services such as massage therapy, physiotherapy, or acupuncture. Additional options may include prescription drug coverage, vision, hospital stays and out of country medical expense coverage. Employers can offer this as single cover (employee only), or extend the plan for dependants (spouse, children). Typically, employers cover all family members. 

Virtually the same as Medical Benefits, Dental Benefits establish a reimbursement account for each employee and their family members to pay for dental expense completely or partially. You can set the maximum reimbursement levels and establish the extent of what procedures are covered. For Dental Benefits procedures are grouped into categories. They are Basic and Preventative; Major; and Orthodonture.

These coverage categories are layered in a plan. Basic and preventative are the foundational pieces, with Major next and then Orthodonture last. Dental plans will also have limits of coverage established by units of time devoted to a named set of services. Each provincial dental association publishes a Fee Guide that establishes the customary cost for each service that a Dentist performs. Insurance companies reference this fee guide in determining how much of a claim they will reimburse an employee for. An Employer can customize the reimbursement levels, scope of coverage, frequency of visits, and even the fee guide used to determine the acceptable costs used for determining reimbursement levels.

This is a policy that guarantees an income if an employee cannot work due to illness or accident. There are two main portions of this policy, Short-Term Disability (STD) and Long-Term Disability (LTD), as well as Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D). 

The tax treatment of both benefits received and or premium paid is complicated when it comes to Disability Income Protection. If the employer pays any portion of the premium paid for these benefits, then the benefit received by the employee at time of claim is a taxable benefit. However, if as a matter of accounting, each premium paid on behalf of an employee is itemized in their payroll records and reflected on their T4 statement of income and benefits, then the benefit received at time of claim is tax free. Alternatively, if the employee pays the premium on a regular basis through a payroll deduction, then the benefit received is also tax-free.

 is a disability insurance policy that provides an employee income who has suffered illness or injury preventing them working. There is usually a waiting period of 0-14 days before an employee is placed on STD. That timeframe would have been pre-set by the employer when choosing a plan. Payment structure is another option predetermined by the employer. A common example might be the scaling formula which could look similar to the following: 14 day wait period; Employee is paid their salary at 100% for the next 6 weeks; Employee is paid 75% of their salary for the next 6 weeks; Employee is paid 55% of their salary for the remainder of their time on STD to a maximum of 1 year (this could be 2 years depending on how the plan is structured and when an employee is officially considered to move to the LTD portion of the plan, if necessary) 

is insurance coverage that is extended beyond the STD period because of prolonged or permanent illness or injury sustained by the employee. LTD policies can be set up with an end period, or, be set up to last until retirement. This is predetermined by the employer when setting up their plan. Payment for LTD varies between 60-80% of an employee’s salary and is paid monthly. LTD coverage will have a monthly maximum benefit amount. Simply the LTD Benefit is designed to give a Disabled Employee most of their after-tax take home pay.

Optional Life and Optional Critical Illness Coverage can be made available at the employees’ cost, but at a reduced rate relative to individual coverage. For Critical Illness Insurance the policy protects the person from loss or costs associated with the diagnosis or occurrence of a covered health condition. Covered condition can include Cancer, Heart Attack, Kidney Failure, Stroke etc. The list is extensive. Optional Life is simply an individual term life policy purchased through the facility offered through your company. For both Optional Life and Critical Illness there will be a maximum amount of coverage available through a company optional plan. 

They are becoming ever more popular. In their simplest form, it is a bank account that contains a specific amount of money, to be used by your employees for health care related expenses. A Health Care Spending Account (HCSA) is specifically earmarked to be used for health care expenses eligible for reimbursement under your benefits plan (Health or Dental) which either may not have been fully compensated for, or, for which your employee wants to receive extra treatment not reimbursed by your plan. The money received by the employee under a HCSA is tax-free.

A Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA)  is more broadly speaking used for expenses which may be covered under your health care pan. However, they also may be used for things such as childcare/daycare costs, gym memberships, pet expenses, etc. These are designed to offer your employees flexibility in how they pursue a healthier lifestyle. You can choose to limit the scope of what is an eligible expense. However, the most appreciated of these are broadly flexible. The money which the employee receives is taxable income to them, even if the expense they choose to allocate to is a covered healthcare expense. It is this flexibility of allocation which renders the LSA taxable income. Like all compensation expenses it is a tax-deductible expense to the business.

Lastly, some employers have gravitated toward a generous HCSA/LSA plan with catastrophic coverage layered on to protect against the very sick and/or injured employee and their related medical expenses, leading to a ruinous financial burden.