KEEPING YOUR EMPLOYEES INFORMED ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS AND THEIR BENEFITS
Use the following sample email to send to your employees about the Coronavirus and its potential impact on their employee benefits.
CUT AND PASTE THE FOLLOWING WORDING TO SEND TO YOUR PLAN MEMBERS
EMAIL SUBJECT:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and your Benefits Plan
EMAIL BODY:
Concerns about COVID-19, the novel Coronavirus, may cause employees to wonder about the impact this virus may have on their health benefits plan. As a general rule, group insurance policies will treat illness due to COVID-19 as any other medical emergency. There is no exclusion related to the COVID-19 epidemic versus another type of medical emergency. Always refer to your employee handbook for standard conditions and exclusions.
However, out-of-country coverage and trip cancellation coverage provided through our employee health benefits plan may be impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak for those employees travelling in regions where a Government of Canada travel advisory is in place.
Our out-of-country coverage contains a condition that excludes expenses incurred in a country or region where the Government of Canada has posted a travel advisory. This exclusion does not apply to employees already present in the location at the time the Government of Canada issued the travel advisory, provided they then take the necessary measures to comply with the advisory as soon as possible. Those employees who qualify for out-of-country coverage and experience significant time in quarantine should expect to receive coverage throughout, up to the limits of their policy as set out in their benefits handbook.
To qualify for trip cancellation coverage, the trip must be bought before the Government of Canada has issued an advisory not to travel to such locations to be eligible for coverage. The advisory must be in force for the period of the planned trip or stay and have been issued after the employee has already finalized the travel arrangements, or when the insured was already staying in such location.
If you are concerned about whether your travel coverage may be impacted by COVID-19, I strongly encourage you to use the number on your benefits card to contact your out-of-country support teams before you travel.