HFI Benefits is an Edmonton based employee benefits advisory firm with over 70 years of combined industry experience. We take a progressive approach to benefit plan design and claims funding by utilizing partial, insurer-backed, self-insurance, ASO (Admin Services Only), in combination with an optional HCSA (Health Care Spending Account)/WSA (Wellness Spending Account) (with a smartphone app available for Android and iOS), called QubeFlex 2.0. This is the direction modern benefit plans have been going; with the recent advent of smartphone application technology, HCSAs and WSAs can now be easily and effectively implemented, at a low cost, for companies of any size.

We Provide Expertise, Recommendations and Ongoing Service & Support
Employee Benefit Plans  - Executive Benefit Plans
780-705-7800
Employee Benefits Advisory
Edmonton Office
#200 - 6904 Roper Rd NW Edmonton

We utilize ASO and flexible benefits to provide the most progressive, comprehensive and flexible benefit plan for the money, and we ensure it stays that way, year after year.

Experienced Group Benefit Specialists

Like many other industries, employee benefits insurance has become very specialized. This is largely a result of how the group benefits insurance industry is set up. Each insurance company comes up with their own cost structure, using their own metrics, for five or more benefit coverage categories under one group benefits policy; there are no universal industry standards. Add to this a changing legislative landscape, taxation, new technology, and the need for HR related liability protection, and you can see why enlisting the services of a benefit specialist is necessary. When it comes to high-quality employee benefit plan advice, life insurance generalist agents have effectively had their day; attempting to be all things to all companies is now impractical. This is easily borne out in any review analysis done by an experienced employee benefits specialist. As with many industries, you can choose to be really good at one thing, or be mediocre at many... we choose the first approach.

We Can Negotiate Significant Savings For You

Many companies looking for employee benefit coverage think they can simply call an insurer and request a plan quotation, like getting a quote for hardwood, inventory items, etc. The reality is, you will always be referred to either an internal direct representative (Alberta Blue Cross) or a preferred broker. And, unless the broker you're put in touch with has the tools, experience and expertise to be able to give you a proper, apples-to-apples, plan comparison from each insurer, you will end up getting five different plan designs from five different insurers; because the insurance industry is not standardized and each insurance company calculates their rates and premiums based on their own metrics and standard offerings. For this reason, among others, it is strongly advisable that you enlist a knowledgeable and experienced benefits specialist broker from the start. A skilled and experienced group benefits broker will be able to give you a true apples-to-apples quotation from all relevant insurers, as well as alternate plan options that you may not have considered.

No national group benefits insurer will quote directly to companies. Alberta Blue Cross, a provincial group benefits insurer, has direct representatives, but they still incorporate an advisor fee into their rates. Why would you limit your options by dealing directly with an insurance company when you get access to the entire insurer market by dealing with an employee benefits advisory.

Furthermore, employee benefits insurance is essentially the last financial service that can still be effectively negotiated in a way that yields significant savings, but it takes the technical tools, experience, expertise and connections of a credible benefits specialist consultant to do so.

At HFI Benefits, we start off with a benefit plan review. Allowing us to do a no obligation, lay of the land, benefit plan review is the simplest, easiest, no-risk way to determine where you currently stand, so we can advise you on any changes or additions that need to be made. All we need is an electronic copy of your most recent renewal report and the plan summary or booklet. No letters are signed nor any phone calls made to any supplier at any level. If you don't currently have a benefit plan, all we need is an employee census data sheet and a general idea of what plan options you're looking for.

MORE INFORMATION: See our benefit plan review page for more details.

Ancillary benefit coverages and services that HFI Benefits provides:

• Employee and Family Assistance programs or EAP’s, EFAP’s
• FollowMe or CoverMe individual Health & Dental plans
• Out of Canada or Emergency travel insurance plans
• Group Critical Illness (CI) plans
• Group Optional Life plans
• Keyman or individual Life insurance
• Individual Critical Illness (CI) insurance
• Group RRSP & company Pension plans
• Individual Estate planning
• Financial planning

Frequently Asked Questions

How long has HFI Benefits been around?
HFI Benefits Inc. was set up as a separate specialized corporate entity with Phil D. Jones as president in February 2007. Phil spent 25 years in the financial services and employee benefits industries before starting HFI Benefits Inc. The founder of the HFI Financial Group of companies was one of the first to start offering partial self-insurance (ASO) to Extended Health Care (EHC) and Dental group clients in the late ‘80’s.

Why should I deal with HFI Benefits vs another employee benefits advisory?
We have the optimum combination of industry knowledge and technical experience with a consistent, dedicated and responsive team. Phil and Melanie have worked on both the insurer and broker sides of the industry and have the in-depth knowledge and expertise that the vast majority of other employee benefit consulting firms simply don't have. We know our stuff.

How are employee benefits insurance consultants compensated?
Generally, group plans have an advisor compensation structure automatically built into the base group rates: a scale that reduces as annual premiums become larger or a flat % of the annual premium (or claims in the case of ASO plans). Some large employer plans are charged a fee-for-service per hour rate. These structures also apply to any direct quote from an insurer to a company. There is only 1 insurance company that will provide direct quotes to a company, and that company uses internal representatives who receive the same compensation an firm does, so, regardless of whether or not a broker is involved, a compensation structure is included; therefore, it does not make sense to deal directly with an insurance company.

We Provide Expertise, Recommendations and Ongoing Service & Support
Employee Benefit Plans  - Executive Benefit Plans
Edmonton & Office
780-705-7800
#200 - 6904 Roper Rd NW Edmonton