Total Benefits Management
With our Total Benefits Management program, we provide our diverse clientele with the services and advantages of the large consulting firms – but without the large fees. Our program will take the challenges out of benefits management, including group life and health, defined contribution and defined benefits retirement programs, individual and corporate planning, and more.
We identify your needs, provide you with a menu of options. Once you’ve chosen your best option/s, we help you execute your decisions as well as ensure employees understand their benefits as well as appreciate what you’re providing them.
blank
Comprehensive Audit of Your Employee Benefits Program
We begin by conducting a thorough audit of all aspects of your benefits program, examining such areas as:
- Cost/benefit ratio analysis of all benefits;
- Cost sharing allocation/re-allocation;
- Tax efficiencies;
- Demographic and experience history analysis;
- Program funding (which is critical for any benefit program)
- Benchmarking of your own benefits program against others in Canada.
As we prepare your audit, you can sit back and relax while we find ways to apply our strategies to your specific issue/s. We know precisely what you want, and we’ll find a way to get it done.
Surveying Your Options in the Marketplace
Based on the results of the above audit we will try to negotiate with your current provider/s. Failing that, we will conduct a market study of your existing program to assess the competitiveness of the benefits, plan design, funding and pricing. We invite all insurance companies and several independent suppliers to bid on your account. After completing an analysis of the proposals, as well as conducting extensive negotiations to fine-tune such proposals, we prepare and present our comprehensive report for your review.
Benefits Communication to Employees
Employee benefits are an important part of an employee’s overall financial security and compensation, as well as their overall well-being and happiness. Furthermore, it is a big investment on your part and ensuring that your employees appreciate what you are doing for them is a necessary exercise which is best done by us as a third party.
If a change in carriers were to take place, this exercise becomes a must.
We can help you explain how group benefits fit into their lives and ensure that employees’ appreciate this valuable investment.
We assist in communicating the program to employees using announcement letters, video presentations, webinars, narrated Power Points for your remote locations, and employee meetings (including “Lunch N’ Learn” seminars) on a variety of topics and issues.
Ongoing Services
We know that benefits management is a continual process, so we offer a complete range of services to make sure your group benefit plan is meeting your goals. The following are some of the extensive services that you may expect from us:
- Monitoring the use of the benefits program: We review claims and experience on a quarterly basis and will keep you well informed. If deterioration is indicated, we offer three levels of claims control programs to help correct the situation.
- Document screening: We thoroughly review all documents that are submitted to, and received from, the insurance company to ensure accuracy.
- Managing renewals: Analyzing and negotiating the renewal with the insurance company to ensure the carrier is adhering to projections and commitments.
- Monitoring legislation, policies, and market trends: We keep a close eye on the latest developments in government and the insurance industry. By staying informed, we can keep you informed on how these current events relate to your program.
- Benchmarking your benefits against others: We provide you with precise knowledge on how your benefits stack up against similarly sized companies, and other companies in your industry.
- Shifting costs away from you: We are able to reduce your benefit costs by making sure costs are shifted to the government, suppliers, and insurance companies whenever possible. We want to provide you with the most value for your benefit spending.
- Troubleshooting with you and your employees any claims or administrative problems that may arise: The full weight of more than 150 years of collective benefits experience is brought to the table for all problems, not just when major decisions are being made.
- Being here to help you: We are your first point of contact to help address any concerns or problems that arise.
blank
Expertise in US Employee Benefits
We have the expertise and the necessary partnerships to assist you in managing your employee benefits program in the United States. We have helped many U.S. corporations including Northrop Grumman, the State of Nevada, Wood Gundy U.S., and Indiana Acoustical Components.
Working with the same consultant on both sides of the border will save time and you can also be assured of adherence to your overall corporate culture, policies and practices.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestiture
If you are considering acquiring, divesting or merging with other businesses, we have the experience and the capability to conduct the necessary due diligence required to make the deal work.
Benefit from our Strategic Alliances
We understand that our clients may face different challenges that fall out of our scope of expertise or out of geographical service area. We have established partnerships with suppliers whose values and commitment parallel ours. We are able to offer our clients an extensive array of products and services through these preferred providers and strategic alliances.
Would you like to learn more? Read more or feel free to contact us for more details on our dynamic approaches.
Benefit from Our Proprietary Strategies
Our clients have diverse needs, and we take pride in being able to develop the appropriate strategies for their unique situations. We’re able to look beyond traditional approaches and formulate proprietary strategies to address each obstacle our clients face.
Providing Innovative Benefits Solutions
The Consulting House was the first consulting firm in Canada to take a leading-edge stance on the Short-Term Disability strategy. Our innovative Short-Term Disability strategy has been showcased twice in Benefits Canada magazine, and has revolutionized how employers and advisors thought about this benefit. Since then, we have pioneered many firsts in the benefits industry including specialized funding techniques.
In addition, we adopted many other important strategies such as Worksite Wellness, Employee Assistance, Legal Assistance and Managed Dental and Vision programs in order to enable our clients to accomplish their objectives. Such strategies go far beyond simply cost shifting. They enable our clients to become proactive by preventing instead of just treating illnesses.
Contact us to find out how we may develop a solution for your benefits program.
Health and Wellness Programs
Our holistic approach to benefits planning and group insurance takes into account workplace realities. By doing this, we address the real issues arising in the workplace – not just a quick fix.
As we all know, a healthy employee is a happy employee and a more productive one. But in addition to boosting company morale, reducing stress, increasing productivity, and lowering absenteeism, it also leads to better value for benefits investment with significant reductions in employee health claims.
Adding Employee Assistance and/or Wellness to your benefits program is a low-cost way to achieve sustained reductions in long-term benefit costs, benefits your organization, and makes a huge impact in the lives of your employees.
Why Include Health and Wellness in Your Benefits Plan?
Here are some recent statistics from Statistics Canada and the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute:
- In 2010, 1 in 6 Canadians over the age of 12 had been diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure).
- Between 2003 and 2010, obesity among men rose from 16% to nearly 20%, and among women, from 15% to 18%.
- Daily stress rates are highest in the core working ages (35 to 54), peaking at about 30% in the 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 age groups. People in these age groups are most likely to be managing multiple career and family responsibilities.
- Since 2003, women were more to report that most days were quite a bit or extremely stressful. In 2012, the rate for females was 24.3%, while for males the rate was 21.1%.