Your Trusted Group Benefits Provider
At DBA, we are loyal to our clients first and foremost, remaining independent of all group insurance carriers. To deliver the best group benefits plans at the best value, we rely on our decades of collective expertise and the relationships we’ve built throughout our 40 years in business. We keep benchmarking data, up-to-date pooling levels and charges, and out-of-country rates on file to use as a resource during our renewal negotiations and to ensure no detail goes unnoticed. This positions us to handle any negotiations effectively, advocating for you and representing you with all the facts.
Strategic Partnerships
In every relationship we develop, we lead with trust, transparency and accountability. This holds true whether with our clients, within our team, or with our providers. Our vast network and strategic partnerships allow us to provide more compelling group benefits solutions to our clients for a better price. Through our Administrative Services Only (ASO) or Refund Accounting model, we can reduce administration fees and structure your plan to grant access to surplus refunds. We also offer clients options to reduce costs for AD&D and Long-Term Disability coverage through specialty providers.
Employee Support
In today’s world, it’s critical that employees and their families feel supported by their employers’ insurance plan. By working with DBA on your group insurance strategy, we ensure the needs of employees – and their financial stability – are preserved. This is achieved not only by offering a cost-effective plan for less to employers, but also with expert guidance and ongoing support. We advocate for your employees as they navigate their new insurance coverage, ensuring no question is left unanswered. We also provide Health Care Spending Accounts and Cost Plus arrangements to deliver tax-effective compensation. Whatever it takes to get your employees on the right track, our team is here to help.
Types of Group Benefit Plans
Here are the types of Group Benefit Plans to consider for your business
Flexible Employee Benefits Plans allow employees to choose the benefits and the level of coverage that is most useful for them. For example, employees can either purchase more comprehensive plans or choose more basic coverage. Flex plans allow the employer and the employee to communicate and share the cost of the benefits.
Wellness Programs are a great addition to employee benefits plans. They help to promote health and wellness within your organization and can help retain and attract employees. These programs provide education and support for employees to live healthier lives and can be designed to cover a wide variety of eligible expenses such as gym memberships, child care, exercise equipment and more.
Within a group benefits plan, Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) provide immediate and confidential help for employees and eligible family members and are available anytime, anywhere.
EAP’s offer short-term counseling for challenges such as mental health concerns, grief and loss, addiction, debt management, finding child daycare or improving nutrition.
Group Life Insurance is a common group benefits coverage option. There are three types of Group Life Insurance you can choose from:
Basic Life
- Offers tax free payment to the beneficiary of your choosing
- Typically based on multiples of salary and can include commission or bonus
Dependent Life
- Covers your dependent (children) or spouse
- Is a flat amount of insurance ranging from $2,500 to $25,000
Optional Life
- Is the ability to purchase additional insurance through the group plan
- Coverage is age banded and updated every 5 years
- A completed medical questionnaire is required; acceptance is not guaranteed
Income Replacement or Group Disability Insurance are coverage options within a group benefits plan that protects your employees from unexpected life events.
Short Term Disability (STD)
- Offers a percentage of your weekly income payable for up to 17 weeks
- Can be structured as tax free or taxable depending on who pays the premium
- STD can work in conjunction with Employment Insurance by implementing a supplementary plan
Long Term Disability (LTD)
- Offers a percentage of your monthly income payable for 2 years, 5 years or to age 65
- It can be structured as tax free or taxable depending on who pays the premium
AD&D
AD&D coverage is typically equal to the group’s life insurance coverage and pays a set benefit if the insured person dies or is dismembered in an accident.
Optional AD&D
Optional AD&D allows employees to purchase additional AD&D coverage through the group benefit plan above the basic AD&D amount.
Your organization’s employee insurance plan can include many Group Health Insurance coverage options including:
Group Health
Group Health Insurance provides coverage supplemental to government healthcare plans and can include many benefits such prescription drugs, physiotherapy, chiropractor, semi-private hospital, orthotics, and travel coverage.
Group Health Coverage is guaranteed to employees and their eligible dependents. There are no medical questions.
Dental Coverage
Dental coverage allows for reimbursement for a variety of dental expenses such as cleaning, examinations, filings, x-rays and can include root canals, implants and even orthodontics.
- HSA’s can be standalone plans or used to enhance existing benefits plans
- Employees submit claims against their annual HSA for health and dental claims that would be CRA approved such as orthodontia, physiotherapy, glasses
- HSA’s give employees flexibility to customize their coverage to meet their needs
- Expenses are deductible corporately and non-taxable personally
Critical Illness
Critical Illness Insurance complements disability, life, and health benefits within your company’s employee benefits plan. If employees should suffer a covered illness, they would be paid a one-time, lump sum benefit following a specified survival period and approval of their claim.
The benefit is paid regardless of whether they are able to work or what expenses they have incurred. Employees collect the full amount even if they make a full recovery. And they can use the money any way they want such as to seek other treatment, buy specialized equipment or pay down their mortgage.
Travel & Business Insurance protects your workers when working abroad. Coverage options include:
Business Travel
Business Travel can help employees access care while working outside of Canada. Coverage is flexible and can be customized to meet the needs of employees and meet the objectives of your business. Business Travel coverage can include trip cancellation, lost baggage as well as multi-trip insurance.
Emergency Out of Country Coverage
Out-of-Country Emergency Medical coverage provides benefits during a medical emergency while plan members and their covered family members are temporarily outside Canada for vacation, education or business.
Expatriate Insurance Cross Border Employee Transfer
- Allows employers in Canada to offer coverage to employees working overseas
- Coverage is tailored to the country they are working in
US International
- Ability to implement US Plans based on US coverage norms
- Ability to set up plans with as few as 4 employees
Other Ways DBA Can Help
Since our humble beginnings in 1977, we’ve made it a priority to put the needs of businesses and their people first, in a way that balances value with convenience and practicality.
We deliver the best solution for your business by getting to know you, learning about specific pain points and priorities, and how your current package is addressing them. DBA provides value-driven solutions that help your business boost employee retention, productivity, morale and satisfaction.
How We’re Different
DBA is a fourth-generation, family-run business. We understand firsthand the importance of securing the best possible group benefits plan for your staff. We take pride in providing higher standards in our services in order to ensure outstanding, value-added outcomes for our clients. We are constantly innovating our methods to serve our clients in the most advantageous ways possible.
