September/October 2008, Contractor Advantage Magazine
It may not be sexy but insurance really matters
By Mark Beckham
I'm not looking for sympathy, honest. But when I go to parties and tell people I'm in the health insurance business, eyes glaze over and people start looking over my shoulder for someone else to talk with.
It's odd, really. Insurance is all around us. You can't get a mortgage without home insurance. You can't legally drive a car without insurance. You'd be hard-pressed to get a bank loan to start a business without liability insurance. Virtually everyone in Canada is covered by a provincial health care insurance system.
Insurance is to us what water is to fish. It's all around us all the time. We just don't notice it.
This seems particularly true when I talk with contractors about Castle's new Castlecare health benefits program. Everyone's very polite, of course. We are Canadian, after all. But most contractors don't want to talk about health insurance.
The two most common excuses I hear are:
1. I don't have time to think about it.
2. Insurance is complicated.
I know I'm in the business, but I find both excuses pretty lame.
Castlecare benefits program for contractors is a total no-brainer.
You choose the package that meets your needs from:
- Extended health care
- Dental
- Life insurance
- Dependent life insurance
- Accidental Death and dismemberment
You choose what YOU want. Seems simple to me.
I think there's a third excuse that goes unsaid but it's never far from the minds of small and medium contractors, and that's cost. I think everyone's afraid that health coverage will cost a fortune.
As it happens, Castle's Castlecare Group Employee Benefits program anticipated this concern and created three levels of 'premium sensitive' options. In other words, the coverages are based on your budget. We created three levels of coverage: (1) the Bronze package provides basic benefits. (2) Silver provides more. (3) Gold provides the highest level of coverage.
Naturally, each higher level is more expensive. (For all the program details click here.) But don't forget, many company's share the premium cost with their employees 50/50, so your company picks up only half the increase as you move up the coverage ladder.
As I mentioned in a previous issue of Contractor Advantage, to be eligible for Castlecare coverage you must have three employees or more working a minimum of 20 hours per week.
We realize many contractors do not meet the three employee minimum so we also offer a program that provides tax effective coverage to small (fewer than three employees) businesses. This program allows you, as an owner of a company, to pay for health and/or dental costs with 'after tax dollars,' which are much more effective (that is, cheaper) than pre-tax dollars. The program is called 'Cost Plus' and I'd be happy to explain it to you (or visit www.castlecare.ca/contractor). Any expense can be put in for reimbursement. Drugs, dental care, glasses, chiropractor or massage therapy - any expense that is recognized by Canada Revenue Agency as an eligible medical expense.
When I meet contractors I like to ask them two questions:
1. Would you like to pay less for health benefits for yourself, your family and your employees?
2. Are you attracting and keeping the employees you want?
If the answer to either of these questions is 'NO' we have a starting point for discussion. The irony is I've never met a person who wants to pay more for health coverage but I've met lots of people who can put the subject on the back burner for years.
What I can tell you is (i) it's hard for contractors to get health benefits (ii) Castlecare is designed specifically for contractors (iii) Castlecare will save you money (iv) it makes you a more attractive employer.
What could be simpler?
For more information on plans.
ARCHIVES: Castlecare articles in Contractor Advantage magazine
March/April 2009 How to succeed in tough times
January/February 2009 The Bronze Benefits Plan
November/December 2008 Can you spare 15 minutes?
September/October 2008 It may not be sexy but insurance really matters
July/August 2008 What to look for in a broker
May/June 2008 Benefits can make a difference
March/April 2008 Major expansion plans
January/February 2008 Health Care now available
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