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Posted on November 15, 2013 and updated December 2, 2013 in Canadian Life Insurance Companies, Group Benefits, Insurance Types, Life Insurance Canada News Marla Schwartz, President and CEO
of Benecaid, takes us through its
Guaranteed Small Business Benefit

Benecaid, a Toronto-based health benefits provider, serves about 60,000 Canadians, but where the company really shines is in what it’s able to provide small to medium business owners.

Benecaid’s Small Business Benefit Plan offers health coverage for the employees of business owners and entrepreneurs, with plans typically covering 25 to 100 lives in one company.

“We have noticed that larger and larger companies are interested in what we do because our plans tend to be a little more innovative,” says Marla Schwartz, Benecaid’s President and CEO.

“A lot of health benefit plans haven’t changed in 20, 30, or 40 years. They look the same, they feel the same, they smell the same, but the only difference is they cost a lot more. We’re interested in providing products and services that our customers find useful and appreciate, both from the plan sponsor’s perspective and the member’s/user’s perspective.”

Benecaid’s Small Business Plan offers great value and flexibility. Their plan offers a health spending account in instances where it makes sense for a particular group of employees. “We look at the demographics of the employee group: How old are they? Are they all single? Are they all families? What are they looking for? What is the employer looking for?” says Schwartz.

“We ask a lot of questions before we create a solution for the group that’s going to address what they’re looking for, as opposed to just a canned solution,” she says.

A health spending account can offer that customized and flexible solution because it allows the member to decide how they want to spend the health benefit money. For example, a traditional health benefit plan that’s fully insured will put caps or maximums on a per-person basis. However, with a health spending account, the plan member can spend the money on the individual in their family who really needs more of the focus and the funds.

“If you have a child who needs orthodontic care and your traditional plan doesn’t cover it, you can spend all your funds on the orthodontist that year. If you’re 30 years old and you don’t want new prescription glasses every two years — you want laser eye surgery — you can do that. There are many, many items that are not covered by a traditional health benefits plan that are covered through a health benefits spending account,” says Schwartz.

As Benecaid’s Small Business Benefit Plan caters to small business owners and entrepreneurs — where the biggest business growth is — there is a definite trend among them towards wellness and prevention.

“Most people who start a new business are under the age of 50, many of their employees are much younger than that and they don’t want the same old, same old: they want something that meets their needs, that’s flexible and demonstrates that their employer knows what they’re looking for,” Schwartz continues.

“If I’m young, fit and I run marathons, I may want a lot of massage therapy, but they will be capped with a traditional plan. You can level the playing field and give people what they want and what they need with a health spending account incorporated into the program. You can also still protect your employees.”

In any small company, it’s vitally important that the employees be present, willing, and able to work. In a highly competitive work environment, when you want the best people in the field, Benecaid’s Small Business Benefit Plan combined with its Health Spending Account [HSA] is an enticing tool any employer needs to attract the calibre of talent they need to stay at the pinnacle of excellence in their industry.

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