Group Employee Benefits Consulting - Edmonton & Area

Like many other industries, group employee benefits insurance has become very specialized. This is largely a result of how the group benefits insurance industry is set up. Though there are some fundamental common conventions, 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. Add to this a changing legislative landscape, taxation, new technology, and the increasing need for HR related liability protection, and you can see why enlisting the services of a benefits specialist is smart business.

When it comes to high-quality employee benefit plan advice and expertise, primarily life insurance generalists have effectively had their day; attempting to be all things to all companies is now impractical and costly to the company's they are servicing employee benefit plan's for. 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 Group Employee Benefit Savings For You

Many company's looking for employee benefits 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 (as with Alberta Blue Cross) or a preferred group employee benefits broker that works with that particular insurer. And, unless the broker you're put in touch with has the tools, experience and expertise to be able to provide you with a proper, apples-to-apples, plan comparison from every relevant group benefit insurer, you will end up getting five+ different plan designs, with different cost structures, from five+ different insurers. For this reason, and many others, it is strongly advised that you enlist a knowledgeable and experienced group benefits broker from the start. A skilled and experienced group benefits broker will be able to provide you a true apples-to-apples quotation from all relevant group insurers, as well as common sense & current era alternate plan options which you may not have considered.

As a general rule, no nationwide group employee benefits insurer will quote directly to companies. Alberta Blue Cross, a provincially based group employee benefits insurer, has direct representatives, but they still incorporate a standard advisor compensation fee structure into their rates for the sales employee generating the quotation . Why would you limit your options by only dealing directly with one insurance company option, when you could get access to the entire group insurer marketplace by dealing with an established employee benefits brokerage advisory?

Furthermore, group employee benefits insurance is really the only financial or insurance service that can still be effectively negotiated in a way that yields significant savings because of the many variables in play that impact the pricing of the various coverage's provided, but it takes the technical tools, experience, expertise and connections of a credible employee benefits broker to do so.

At HFI Benefits, we start with a group employee benefit plan review

Allowing us to complete 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 should be considered. All we require 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 coverage options you're looking for in order for us to secure quotations for you.

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

Ancillary benefit coverage's and services that HFI Benefits provide's:

• Employee and Family Assistance programs or EAP’s or 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 insurance plans
• Business Buy-Sell Agreement Life Insurance
• Business based Key-Person Life Insurance
• Executive Health Savings Plan with Life or & Critical Illness Insurance
• Corporate Estate Bond with Life Insurance
• Group RRSP & company Pension plans

Frequently Asked Questions

How long has HFI Benefits been around?
HFI Benefits Inc. was set up as a separate specialized corporate entity with Phil Jones as President in February 2007. Phil spent 26 years in the financial services and employee benefits industries before starting HFI Benefits Inc. The founder of the HFI Financial Group of companies, an initial partner in HFI Benefits Inc. was one of the first to start offering partial self-insurance (ASO) for Extended Health Care (EHC) and Dental group benefit clients in the late ‘80s.

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

How are group employee benefits insurance brokers compensated?
Generally, group benefit plans have an advisor compensation structure automatically built-into the plan rates: either a tiered compensation scale that reduces as annual premiums become larger or, flat % scale(s) of the policy's annual premium (or paid claims in the case of ASO plans). Some large employer plans are charged based on a fee-for-service per hour rate.  In fact, any insurer that provides direct benefit plan quotations to a company will build-in the same compensation to their plan rates that a benefits broker would. So regardless of whether or not a broker is involved, a compensation structure is included in the quoted rates. But with a Broker you get access to the entire insurer marketplace which ensures you'll be provided with the most competitive rates and service offerings, unlike when dealing with only one insurance company's direct employee representative. 

Why should you deal with an Employee Benefits Broker?
Experienced Employee benefit brokers have access to all the relevant group insurance companies in the marketplace, so they can provide unbiased advice and composite, 'apples-to-apples' comparisons of all relevant insurers as opposed to being limited to simply providing rates & advice from one in the case of a captive agent or direct quoting insurance company sales employee.

Isn't it more expensive to deal with an employee benefits broker than directly with an insurance company?
No - regardless of whether or not you are receiving your benefit plan through an employee benefits broker or directly from an insurer, the cost of the compensation built-into the plan rates are the same; the difference is the internal representative of the insurance company - who only represents that company - will receive the compensation instead of the independent and unbiased employee benefits broker.

What's the most effective and cost efficient benefit plan to offer my employees?
In our opinion, a core conservative insured (or with ASO EHC & Dental) benefit plan through an established group benefits' insurer that provides the catastrophic pooled benefits: Life, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Short-Term Disability (partially pooled), Long-Term Disability, as well as Prescription Drug coverage and Travel coverage, in combination with a flexible benefit: HSA (Health Spending Account), WSA (Wellness Spending Account), which includes the option to use these funds to contribute to a personal RRSP plan (if no company sponsored group RRSP or Pension plan is in place).

What is partial self-insurance ASO?
For us, ASO (Administrative Services Only) is a term used to describe an EHC (Extended Health Care) and Dental claims funding option through an established group benefits insurer whereby there is no insured component nor the additional costs for it, for common everyday EHC and Dental claims. Out of Canada Travel coverage and high per insured Prescription Drug coverage are generally still insured components of the plan.

Who is the best employee benefits insurer?
Certain insurers have more competitive pricing than others in certain industry sectors; and there are indeed differences in the technology and service offerings between insurers. Also, insurers have certain industries that they will not provide quotes for at all. An experienced employee benefits broker knows & understands the strengths and weaknesses of each group benefits insurer that provides employee benefit plan quotations (not all do).

We Provide Expertise, Recommendations, and Ongoing Service & Support
Group Employee Benefit Brokers - Edmonton & area
Executive Benefit Plan Brokers
Employee Benefits Advisory
Edmonton Office
780-705-7800
#200 - 6904 Roper Rd NW
Are we the best employee benefit brokers in Edmonton & area?
Our clients think so, and we hope you will too.
Please contact us to arrange a no-risk, no obligation employee benefit plan review.