Group insurance
solutions
Contents
01
Your business is different. So are we.
02
Group insurance made easier
04
Real people make a real difference
06
Welcome to your eServices
09
Our solutions
10
Health management solutions
13
Absence management solutions
15
Life insurance solutions
16
Flexible solutions
17
Full-size solutions for small business
18
What we can provide your company
20
A little bit about us
Your business is different.
So are we.
Your individuality separates you from
the competition. You strive to do things
differently and, presumably, better
than your competitors.
Such as how you value your employees, with the understanding that a healthier workplace helps to attract top talent and keeps them longer. And how you manage the costs of providing a solid group insurance plan — one that keeps you competitive and growing, and therefore attractive to even more talent.
At Standard Life, we understand all that
because we, too, are different. We respect
and in fact celebrate your individuality. Which
is why we work hard to come up with group
insurance solutions that wouldn’t work quite
as well for anyone else… as they do for you.
Group insurance
made easier
There are no shortcuts to doing things right. However, knowledge, experience and judgment can help to make things a little bit easier. These are just some of the qualities our people bring to the table.
As a longstanding Canadian player with national scope, regional presence and international reach through our membership with Insurope, Standard Life has particular expertise in workplace health and absence management. We appreciate that everyone benefits — especially the employee, both psychologically and emotionally — when he or she is able to safely return to work after an illness or injury. We also appreciate that, while absence management is essential, prevention is by far the smartest course over the long term.
Running a business is challenging
at the best of times.
So Standard Life makes 3 pledges:
¬We will get to know your business and recommend a group insurance solutions portfolio that’s as individual as you are.
¬We will keep it simple. We’ll handle the administration, so your plan is never a distraction from running your business.
¬We will always keep sight of the cost implications. That way, your group insurance plan is working that much harder for all your employees, today and tomorrow.
Our job is to understand the reasons why an
employee is absent and to help that employee
return to work safely and in a timely manner. Equally
important, our job is to help everyone in your
Real people make
a real difference
Robust processes and protocols are essential to our offering — and we do have proven systems in place. But at Standard Life, we also believe we’re primarily in the people business. It’s essential that when you want an answer, you can get the right person on the line and have the issue rapidly resolved to your satisfaction. That’s why we assign a dedicated team to each one of our clients. From the first day of implementation, we’ll give you the names and numbers of the people dedicated to your group. Feel free to call or email for answers about your plan — everything from billing to eligibility to disability.
Meet your Manager,
Business Development
Your Manager, Business Development is responsible for your plan’s financial health and your overall satisfaction. From pricing to plan design, the Manager, Business Development, works closely with you and your advisor to develop the right plan — one that offers your employees the right benefits, at the right cost.
Your Customer Relationship Manager
At Standard Life, we often describe ourselves as accountable. But for accountability to mean anything, it must be vested in an individual. That’s where your assigned Customer Relationship Manager comes in. Your group insurance prime contact, the Customer Relationship Manager is available, committed and knowledgeable. Expect this individual to lead training for your HR staff and employees, visit annually to ensure your plan is operating as promised, and present you with a personalized service report.
And your dedicated Customer
Care Specialist
Your Customer Care Specialist takes the lead on day-to-day issues and works alongside your Customer Relationship Manager. Operating from the Standard Life Customer Care Centre, your specialist will provide guidance on:
¬Employee enrollment and changes to benefits
¬Billing and premiums
¬Online services navigation and access
¬Status on any claims
¬Optional benefits requests and evidence of insurability
¬Life insurance conversion
¬Documentation, drug card and insurance certificate replacement
¬And pretty much anything else you need to keep your plan… on plan
Getting employees on board
Standard Life offers a comprehensive and structured approach to communicating with your employees and rallying them behind their group insurance plan. We launch the plan with welcome presentations and kits, and invite them to call our Info-Line for live answers and guidance during business hours, or to take advantage of 24/7 access to a wealth of information and tools via their VIP Room secure site, and the Standard Life public website. Informed and courteous service and support from Standard Life reflects positively on you and your commitment to employees.
Our service protocol ensures that nothing falls
through the cracks. The moment you contact
Standard Life via our toll-free number or online,
a flag goes up and won’t come down until your
issue is resolved or your question is answered.
How are we doing?
That’s the question we ask regularly. We listen and respond with an annual service report, along with better, more finely tuned service.
During our annual client survey, we ask the more pointed question, “Would you recommend Standard Life?” In the most recent survey (2012), 92% answered “Yes.” The single biggest reason for answering “Not at this point” (7.1%) was that the relationship with Standard Life was too new.
Would you recommend Standard Life?
92% answered
Welcome to your eServices
Our eServices give you and your employees a simple and quick way to access relevant information on your plan and self-service transactions. You can, among other things, access your benefits information, submit a claim and get answers 24/7.
For you
Online administration
Our VIP Room puts answers and tools at your fingertips the instant you want them:
¬Enroll new employees and update their information
¬View employee booklets
¬Review any invoice
¬Generate personalized administrative and claim forms
¬Print copies of employees’ combined certificate, travel assistance and drug cards
¬Create and consult a range of group benefits reports
¬Consult our Administrator’s Handbook
¬Access tools to promote health and wellness in the workplace
¬And, of course, ask questions via our secure Message Centre
Electronic payment – one less cheque
The ePayment option allows you to pay your group insurance invoice online, via your preferred financial institution.
For all
Health & Wellness Centre
Our award-winning Health & Wellness Centre is a one-stop resource for interactive tools, information, quizzes and tips for making everyone more energized at work and at home. We’ve designed the content so that it’s fun and informative. As a client of Standard Life, you also have exclusive access to additional information and promotional tools in our VIP Room.
Standard Life website
Our public website provides straightforward answers to you and your employees. With sections specifically designed to address each of your concerns, the website gives you practical information such as:
¬Step-by-step instructions for filing a claim and how our products and services can help in real-life situations
¬Frequently used administrative and claim forms and an online administration handbook
For your employees
Information just a click away
Plan members can obtain the latest information on their group benefits and claims at all times, via the VIP Room. This secure site enables your employees to submit claims online, update their personal information and gives them
quick access to:
¬Employee booklets detailing their group benefits coverage
¬Status of medical, dental
and disability claims and benefits statements
¬Fillable, personalized claim and administration forms
¬Printable version of their insurance certificate
¬Our Customer Service team via email
User-friendly online claims submission
We give your employees many ways to quickly and safely submit claims online.
¬At the pharmacy – Employees simply present
their drug card to the pharmacist, who submits the claim electronically and can confirm in real time their eligibility, drug coverage and amount they must pay.
¬At the dentist – Claims can be submitted
directly to Standard Life via the Canadian Dental Association Network (CDAnetTM).
¬At participating health care providers – A
simple and efficient way for your employees to have their provider submit their claims electronically directly from the point-of-care. The list includes physiotherapists, chiropractors and vision care providers, as well as other professionals registered in some provinces, such as acupuncturists, massage therapists and naturopathic doctors.
¬In our VIP Room – Your employees can submit
most of their drug, health care and dental care claims online in the VIP Room. They simply follow the six easy steps and attach their scanned or photographed receipts.
Direct deposit service
The fastest, safest and easiest way to reimburse claims, payments are transferred directly into the employee’s bank account, while the Explanation of Benefits and a notice of direct deposit are posted in the VIP Room. Employees can also modify their financial information online, as needed.
When they know they’re valued, people give their
very best to an employer. So how do you make them
feel valued? Part of it comes through the benefits
they receive, along with the services that support
those benefits. It’s this combination that so often
makes Standard Life a preferred partner.
Our solutions
Our group insurance solutions fall
into three broad categories:
Drug management
Spiralling drug prices are impacting not just Canada’s public systems. They can also absorb a significant portion of your group insurance plan. Standard Life offers several plan types and reimbursement options, depending on your needs. More critically, we also offer a range of tools and programs to help you control costs. These include our drug cards’ built-in features, such as dispensing limitations and early refills tracking, as well as our Specialty Drug, Prior Authorization and Generic Substitution programs.
The core to any comprehensive benefits
package, health management solutions
protect your employees and their families,
as well as your organization.
Specialty Drug program
Provincial governments operate Specialty Drug programs to provide their citizens with prescription drugs at no cost or reduced cost. These programs might offer total or partial reimbursement for certain eligible prescription drugs as applied to specific medical conditions. By coordinating your group insurance plan with these provincial programs, where available, your eligible employees can benefit from specialty drug reimbursement and you can gain better control over your plan’s costs. We ensure that all our clients with a drug plan automatically coordinate with and benefit from these programs.
Prior Authorization program
The Prior Authorization program enables your members to access generally expensive specialty and biologic drugs, based on certain clinical criteria and in accordance with indications approved by Health Canada. One key aspect of this program is that it fosters close collaboration with our health, dental and disability specialists, leading to a complete analysis and informed recommendations. As a result, your employees benefit from high quality, effective treatments at lower cost, and you benefit from reduced absenteeism. The Prior Authorization program is offered to all Standard Life clients with drug plan coverage.
Health management
solutions
Absence management
Management and support program
for serious health issues
The Management and support program for serious health issues is our unique way of helping people suffering from illnesses that require particularly expensive drugs. Part of the Prior Authorization program, it allows for the insured diagnosed with specific medical conditions to benefit from customized support services designed to minimize or delay the effects of the disease. As part of this program, our health care specialist refers the eligible insured to our absence management expert, who contacts them by phone to offer support and ensure they’re getting the most appropriate treatment and services. This is just one example of the expertise we offer to help your employees get the best treatment, access resources and support services and, in some cases, even prevent disability. It’s also an example of how we integrate claims management and health and wellness under one team, to bring greater synergy and add value to your plan.
Generic Substitution program
The Generic Substitution program offers yet another way to help control the rising costs associated with new classes of highly effective drugs. Under this program, we base reimbursement for any brand name drug on the lowest-cost generic drug equivalent, unless the doctor has handwritten “Do not substitute” on the prescription. We also offer the Mandatory Generic Substitution program, under which the brand name drug is covered only with accompanying medical evidence that a generic equivalent cannot be substituted. Generic medications provide the same clinical benefits as brand name drugs, with the added advantage of being a financially wiser choice.
Travel assistance
Medical emergencies outside your province and especially outside the country can be stressful and financially crippling. As part of your group insurance plan, travel assistance can, among other benefits, help your employees find a nearby hospital, pay for medical expenses and make the necessary arrangements to return home. You can provide employees with two levels of travel insurance — Basic or Plus. Coverage also includes 24/7 access to a global network of 30 service centres.
Employees working abroad
Standard Life’s out-of-country coverage ensures that your employees experience no interruption of coverage when they cross the border, enjoying full benefits and a seamless transition.
Multinational pooling
Our exclusive arrangement in Canada with Insurope enables us to also offer comprehensive group insurance plans for multinational
companies. An industry leader for more than 35 years, Insurope is a global network of partners that can help you reduce your risk assessment and group benefits costs. Among its many added benefits, Insurope allows for higher non-evidence maximums, participation in financial arrangements and easy transfers of expat employees.
Health and dental care
A solid health and dental care plan should deliver two benefits. First, help to attract and retain top talent. And second, manage costs so your business remains strong and healthy. Standard Life health and dental care plans do both, while also offering a wide range of options. Our combined health and dental platform also enables you to benefit from additional flexibility in plan design, such as combined maximums and deductibles.
We actively promote healthy habits to help reduce claims and offer expedited claims processing. We also work closely with a team of health and dental care professionals to ensure the best claims adjudication and to assist you in staying abreast of new and evolving products and services. Plus, you gain access to insightful reports as well as to our Anti-Fraud Message Centre and Tip Line. These tools can help maximize your plan’s value and viability.
Out-of-Canada coverage
Today’s increasingly mobile workforce is creating greater demand for insurance solutions that recognize this emerging fact of business. This is why Standard Life offers solutions that can help employers protect their employees almost everywhere in the world.
Absence management
Absence management
Health management Life insurance
The Standard Life approach to absence
management combines early intervention
and ongoing partnership. We meet with
you before your plan’s effective date to
understand your needs and expectations.
Following that meeting, we design and
share with you a customized communication
protocol, so we’re all on the same page the
instant the first claim comes in.*
What sets us apart
We simplify the claims process by giving you and your members a single claim form to fill out and assigning a dedicated Case Manager. This individual remains with you throughout the process and thereby ensures consistency and deep knowledge — especially important if the claim should escalate from short- to long-term disability. Familiar with your business, industry and culture, the Case Manager ensures that the key players stay in touch and achieve the best possible results. Your single point of contact will consult with medical experts, attend meetings and arrange rehabilitation, with the ultimate goal of enabling your employee’s successful return to work.
Our expertise
Working alongside your dedicated Case Manager, we assign an in-house team of disability,
rehabilitation, drug management and wellness specialists. Their combined expertise enables you and your employees to benefit from best-in-class health promotion, absence management and return to work solutions. As well, we promote close working relationships with our health care, dental care and disability specialists, who can offer added guidance in preventing absenteeism and find effective treatments that can lead to
Absence management
solutions
We’re highly respected for our expertise in disability management and strive to stay abreast of the most recent trends. As an example of our leadership, we partner with university researchers on mental health-related studies. For more information on the studies we sponsor, please contact your Standard Life Customer Relationship Manager.
Short-term and long-term
disability insurance
Standard Life’s disability benefits are designed to provide your employees with income replacement should they become disabled due to an injury or an illness. Short-term disability insurance allows your employees to continue to receive a bi-weekly income, until they return to work or are entitled to long-term disability benefits. Long-term disability provides monthly salary replacement benefits to employees who are unable to return to work for an extended period of time due to their illness or injury.
Critical illness insurance
For an employee faced with a serious illness, extra financial support can make all the difference. Standard Life’s critical illness insurance supplements the coverage offered through your group long-term disability benefit. This insurance can provide your employees with added peace of mind, should they suffer a covered illness, enabling them to focus on their health.
Absence management
Health management Life insurance
Inter-Aide – Employee and Family
Assistance Program
In today’s high-stress work environments, prevention can play a significant role in reducing absences down the road. Through Inter-Aide, you have access to a network of specialists who provide timely, confidential counseling to employees and their immediate family members. Available in person, by phone or online, Inter-Aide takes a practical, solutions-oriented approach to personal and job-related issues, helping to reduce impacts on your workplace.
Expert-Aide – Manager
Assistance Program
Today’s workplace is changing so rapidly that managers often face unprecedented challenges. Some of these are easily overcome but others may be more difficult to handle. Expert-Aide provides assistance two ways: helping managers to recognize and reach out to employees who may need counseling or other assistance, and supporting managers themselves to cope with difficult situations or troubled employees. Expert-Aide services include confidential phone counseling, individual coaching, online education and post-trauma supports.
ConsultAction consulting services
While self-funding short-term disability can offer you premium and tax savings, it can also leave you open to higher long-term disability costs. To lessen this risk and help manage all types of absences, we offer ConsultAction, our absence management consulting services. These can be offered on a case-by-case basis or to all employees. You decide when to put our expertise
You can also get a Standard Life absence management consultant on site to assess your situation and provide practical solutions. Knowledgeable about your industry and sensitive to your culture, our consultant will review your policies and situation and come up with an action plan that can help your employees successfully return to work and improve your overall results. Our À la carte consulting services can provide you with the support you need to manage specific situations, such as administrative absences, Workers Compensation Board (WCB) and Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CSST) claims, and requests for work accommodations. Our goal is to act as an extension of your HR department and offer you comprehensive solutions for all your absence management needs.
Health and wellness solutions
We typically begin a new relationship with a health benefits diagnostic analysis to obtain insights about the conditions impacting your employees’ health, which also drive the costs of your group insurance claims. Armed with this valuable information, our wellness experts work in partnership with you to determine the most effective solutions for your organization. They can provide support throughout the process — from developing your strategy,
designing and implementing an effective wellness program, to analyzing the result and celebrating your successes.
Life insurance
Health management Absence management
Basic and Optional Life insurance
Basic Life insurance can be especially important for a dual-income family where both salaries are needed to maintain the family’s obligations and lifestyle. To help employees protect themselves even more, we also offer Optional Life insurance at relatively low cost. Both Basic and Optional coverage can be based on multiples of an employee’s salary or a flat amount.
The Standard Life portfolio of group
insurance solutions includes Life insurance
offerings that can round out your plan, offer
employees enhanced protection and make
you more competitive. With Standard Life’s
Life and Accidental Death & Dismemberment
insurance, you can help your employees gain
an added measure of security through even
the most difficult times.
Life insurance
solutions
Life Benefit Enhancement
Life Benefit Enhancement is a small extra we offer as part of our group Life insurance plans. This service gives employees’ beneficiaries access to psychological, financial and legal counseling for 12 months following the death of the plan member.
Accidental Death and
Dismemberment insurance
Standard Life’s Accidental Death &
Dismemberment insurance offers employees and their dependents coverage in the event of a death, loss of limb, or any other qualifying injury that results from an accident. Relatively inexpensive and with no evidence of insurability required, Accidental Death & Dismemberment insurance can go a long way in offering financial security and help in rehabilitation.
Flexible solutions
Just like our clients, Standard Life solutions portfolios come in all shapes and sizes. We’re flexible — just as you are with your own customers — and will adapt our group insurance solutions to your business needs and culture.
Health Spending Account
A Health Spending Account gives you maximum operational latitude within a defined cost envelope. It works like a bank account, in which you deposit a sum for your plan and then administer it as a supplement to your basic plan, or as a stand-alone. The fully customizable Health Spending Account enables you to set credit allocations, eligible dependents, credit carry-overs and unused credits allocation options such as vacation days, cash back or RRSP transfers (within the limits of the Income Tax Act). Plus, if your basic plan and Health Spending Account are with Standard Life, you enjoy transparent claims adjudication. It doesn’t get much more flexible than that.
Personal Wellness Account
Similar to the Health Spending Account, a Personal Wellness Account works like a special savings account where you deposit money that your employees can use toward eligible personal wellness expenses. It offers flexibility in covering a wide range of products and services, from personal wellness items to fitness-related services such as nutrition counseling, club memberships and weight loss programs. A Personal Wellness Account can be a valuable addition to your plan, supporting your employees’ efforts to adopt and maintain healthier lifestyles.
Flexible plans put you in the driver’s seat
Designed for medium- and large-sized organizations, the Standard Life flexible plan is a fully customizable solution that can offer the most attractive cost/benefit proposition. As with our Health Spending Account, you enjoy extended unused credits allocation options and a seamless transition from your current plan. Flexible plans give you simple online enrollment and administrative tools, plus tailored
marketing materials to help get the most from your benefits. A definite plus in a competitive market, Standard Life’s flexible plans can help to strengthen your employment brand.
Cost Plus plans
This agreement allows you to reimburse medical and dental expenses not covered under your plan to selected employees and their eligible dependents. However, these expenses must be considered eligible in accordance with the Income Tax Act. Among its many benefits, a Cost Plus plan gives you greater flexibility in the employees you select for extended coverage, and their eligible dependents. It can also be financially advantageous, as the premiums you pay may be tax deductible, and the benefits may be considered non-taxable income for your employees.
Full-size solutions
for small business
Our full-size offering for
small business can help
to level the playing field.
To our way of thinking, smaller businesses shouldn’t be penalized with a smaller selection of services. After all, their goal is to grow and, perhaps, to someday be a big business. Our goal is to support them all the way, no matter what their aspirations. This is why Standard Life provides its small business clients and their employees with full access to the service and support our larger clients enjoy — a dedicated Sales Associate and Customer Care Specialist that ensure a smooth implementation and efficient administration, and access to our Info-Line and VIP Room. That’s unusual, and can be a decisive differentiator in attracting and retaining talent.What we can provide your company
Technological solutions
¬
Electronic communiqués on changes
to your plan, latest products and
regulatory matters
¬
Public website – information and
administrative tools
¬
VIP Room – information and
transactional services
¬
Info-Line – health, dental and
disability claims and benefit
information for employees
A wide range
of group benefits
¬
Drug management
¬
Health and dental care
¬
Out-of-Canada coverage
¬
Travel assistance
¬
Multinational pooling
¬
Short-term and long-term
disability insurance
¬
Critical illness insurance
¬
Basic and Optional Life and AD&D
¬
Health Spending Account
¬
Personal Wellness Account
¬
Flexible plan solutions
¬
Cost Plus plans
Comprehensive, flexible and always
supported with personal service.
Standard Life group insurance solutions can
fit your needs and those of your employees.
One-on-one service
¬
Customer Relationship Manager
¬
Customer Care Specialist
¬
Dedicated Disability Case Manager
Expertise in absence management
and health and wellness
¬
Employee and Manager
Assistance Programs
¬
Dedicated Case Manager
¬
Best practices team
¬
Smooth transition from short-term
to long-term disability programs
¬
ConsultAction – expert advice
on absence management
¬
Rehabilitation services
¬
Return to work program
¬
Comprehensive range of health and
wellness consulting services and tools
¬
Virtual Health & Wellness Centre
About Standard Life
Our expertise in group insurance comes from understanding how Canadians live and work. After all, we’ve been operating in Canada for 180 years. We serve more than 2,300 group insurance clients of many sizes and industries, and over 405,000 plan members.
We have a national network and local presence in major Canadian cities. This means we have deep roots in the communities where we live and work. Focusing on the wellbeing of youth, together with our employees we invest more than $1 million annually in more than 85 organizations. We also encourage volunteerism and support our employees’ community contributions.
as at June 30, 2013. As an affiliate of
Standard Life plc, headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, we’re part of a stable, long-established global financial player with some
worldwide and assets under administration of C$372.5 billion.
In addition to our group insurance business, we’re a leading long-term savings and investment company. Standard Life Financial Inc. indirectly had
C$45.4 billion
of assets
under administration and employed some
2,000 Canadians
6 million customers
Intrigued by our summary?
We’d be delighted to provide all the details
you need for your important decision.
Call us at your convenience.
Retirement Investments
Insurance
Find out more
Contact your Manager, Business Development. Québec 1 800 503-2358 Montréal 1 800 363-4360 Ottawa 1 800 263-3219 Toronto 1 800 465-2581 Winnipeg 1 800 663-7372 Calgary 1 800 805-1631 Edmonton 1 888 944-0600 Vancouver 1 800 663-1784
