CBC reports that Desjardins Group becomes first insurer confirmed to have removed controversial clause from their benefits plan. I have contacted Desjardin to confirm what this change means, I am sure I will hear from them shortly. The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA) which represents the majority of insurance companies in Canada, said CBC’s revelations prompted it to take “serious steps to move this issue forward.”
In a prior blog I spoke to CLHIA mentioning as an overall premise, it is important to note the general purpose of life and health insurance is to provide people with financial and other types of security in the event of unanticipated death, accident or illness. If this purpose of life and health insurance is removed from CLHIA’s guidelines all Insurance Companies will have to look at their contracts.
With Mental Illness being one of the leading illnesses, how will this change affect the rates of the benefit programs? I hope that the Insurance Companies will speak to both the benefits and the rates required to support the change. We must remember as well, these exclusions are not included in all of the benefits available through an employee benefit program. For further information on the benefits and which ones are affected by this change,
I will continue to follow these changes and provide further clarification as they arise. In the meantime, please contact me to review your benefit program and options available to both the employer and employee.