Tariffs are paid by the people or companies that import your goods, making the products you sell more expensive for them. As a Canadian business owner— especially if you export and sell your goods to the U.S. — you are facing mounting headwinds as you contend with trade uncertainty and the tariffs levied by the U.S., supply chain disruption and you likely face lower sales projections – and may need to adapt.
According to an expert panel at Benefits Canada, tariffs could require businesses to pivot by temporarily laying off staff or being forced to downsize with permanent terminations. So, what should happen with the health insurance benefits your employees’ count on?
Why keep Employee Health Insurance in place?
The first thing to consider about having health insurance is, what would happen if there’s a medical emergency and you need to get back on your feet fast, or you need your staff to recover quickly? Ask yourself this: can your personal or business cash flow handle downtime caused by an illness or accident?
If an expensive health event would impact your bottom line, it’s important to keep health insurance coverage for you and your employees intact to pay for healthcare needs, so you don’t have to disrupt your business’s operational cash flow even more so in challenging times.
Here are three key reasons why you should take steps to keep employee health insurance in place:
- Providing health insurance helps maintain your remaining staff members’ morale and helps ensure that they stay with you, because you value their health and well-being
- Your remaining employees will be assured access to supportive healthcare, so you can minimize absenteeism and maintain productivity.
- Offering health insurance coverage can enhance your company’s reputation, making it more attractive to potential customers, and when the time is right, new hires.
How to keep Employee Health Insurance in place
Remember that you are not alone in navigating these challenging times.
Explore government programs and subsidies that may be available to small businesses in Canada. These programs can provide financial assistance to help you maintain health insurance for your employees.
Evaluate Your Current Health Plan
Review your existing health insurance plan to identify areas where you can reduce costs without compromising coverage. You can reach out to your current insurance provider to explore alternative plans that might be more cost-effective. You can consider options like higher deductibles. For insight on what to review, read Four Things Every Small Business Should Know About Health Insurance Renewals
Consider Specially Designed Small Group Plans
Look into group health insurance plans that cater to small businesses. These plans often offer competitive rates and comprehensive coverage. SBIS offers a number of options including:
- GMS Group Advantage
To simplify the selection and reduce the cost of your group benefits package, GMS offers Group Advantage (GA), a health and dental plan specifically designed and attractively priced for small businesses with 3 to 49 employees. With GA, ease is everything. From applying to administering, GMS designed Group Advantage so you can focus on your business, not your benefits. For more information on GA, read here.
- Manulife Association Plan
Manulife’s Association health and dental insurance plans are continually enhanced to offer you and your small business great value and benefits. Find out how the eight different health and/or dental coverage plan options give you the ability to pay for only the coverage you need here.
- Health Plus
While its true that traditional group insurance really isn’t cost-effective if you have fewer than ten people working for you, Health Plus plans offer excellent coverage and keep rates low, and stable. You can also decide who will be covered and how much your business will contribute to the cost of the health insurance. Health Plus plans provide comprehensive health, drug, dental, paramedical, travel health coverage, and more.
Consider having employees contribute to their health benefit costs
To manage your health benefits costs, you can consider a ‘hybrid’ health solution that combines your group coverage and encourages employees to ‘top up’ with their own individual health plan. And as an alternative to group insurance, you may opt to pay for individual health plans for your employees which is usually less expensive than a group plan.
If you are not able to provide your team with health benefits at all, you can still support them by suggesting they explore their own plans.
If you or your employees have never had to purchase health coverage before, you can talk to one of our experts. We have options to fit every budget and need, with almost 50 different health and dental plans to choose from with features like lifetime renewable coverage for every type of employee aged 18 and over, no matter their occupation or if they are now unemployed.
If you refer your individuals to our website, they can see all that we have to offer. Once an individual calls us, we find out exactly what they are looking for and what kind of coverage they can afford. As the employer or former employer, you won’t need to spend time explaining benefits and coverage to them. You can show them who we are and suggest that they contact us to set them up.
Let SBIS help you navigate the challenges ahead
By continuing to offer health and dental benefits, you are making a valuable investment in your employees’ health and well-being, which can ultimately lead to your business surviving and thriving. By working with SBIS you won’t have to worry about going through several people to get answers on which plan is best for your company. Call us during business hours Monday to Friday 8:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-800-667-0429 or 416-601-0429. A dedicated service representative will personally take your call and make sure that your questions are addressed right away. Your time is important, which is why we are committed to saving you time and effort.
You also don’t have to fill out any paperwork; we take care of it all! Our insurance professionals collect all the necessary details. We provide brochures and other information for both your HR department and the employee to review.
Discover the excellent range of products we offer or go online to choose your plan now.
