Interested in increasing your benefit offering?

I am a big supporter of the idea that a good benefit plan generally does a good job of attracting and retaining employees.  A fantastic plan design (and the higher costs that go with it) often does no better a job of keeping employees happy.

That said, with Family Day behind us, and after having several recent conversations with clients and associates, I’m wondering if good enough is…well, good enough.  We are seeing a number of changes to health care in Ontario, that may result in less being covered by the province, with more downloading to the residents.  Maybe it’s time to take a second look at things if you are seeing this, or your staff are sharing their challenges.

For that reason, I am sending out this note to say; if you feel that your plan may need a re-look, that staff are asking for more, maybe you are a family business and finding that there are claims that you are incurring but the plan is not covering tax effectively, then it could be time to consider your benefit offering.

The answer may be adding a new benefit such as; disability coverage, or increasing vision or dental benefits to cover the rising costs, or maybe it’s adding a small Health Spending Account (HSA) that gives the flexibility to cover almost any health or dental related claims.

If you’re interested in doing so and would like us to price a change for you now, or at the next renewal, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Email us at;   dave@mainstayinsurance.ca      or call us at; 905-886-9203

ONTARIO EMPLOYERS: TIME TO UPDATE YOUR ESA POSTER

If you are an Ontario Employer, please ensure that you have the right ESA information posted to stay in compliance. An article and link are below.


The Employment Standards Act, 2000 (ESA) requires that employers in Ontario display a poster published by the Ministry of Labour. The poster provides information about employee rights and obligations under the ESA and its regulations, and is periodically updated.

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Proposed Amendments to OHIP+

In January 2018 the government brought in OHIP+ to provide drug coverage to children under age 25 in Ontario. The new government then reversed that but did not provide details on timing. They have proposed this change be made in March (details below). We’ll continue to watch as the change is made and communicate the effects on your plan.


As announced in ‘A Plan for the People – Ontario Economic Outlook and Fiscal Review’ and further to the announcement made by the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care on June 30th, 2018, the government is fixing OHIP+ by focusing benefits on those who need them the most….

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2018 roundup of the top legal cases in the benefits industry

A very good article just came out in Benefits Canada magazine that highlights lawsuits around employee benefits that have hit in the past year or so. Some of these may have longer term repercussions, such as benefit termination ages and how employers handle disability.

As always, we will do our best to keep purselves apprised of cases like these, share the info with you when we see it, and try and steer you away from trouble where we can.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE