GroupHEALTH Release of Reserve Now Available to Groups of 16+ Employees

SURREY, BC, March 28, 2014 (Press-News.org) Organizations with 16 or more employees - down from the previous minimum of 50 or more employees - can now qualify for the GroupHEALTH Release of Reserve program (http://bit.ly/GroupHEALTH-RoR), Matt Houghton, CEO of GroupHEALTH Benefit Solutions announced today. GroupHEALTH is the only benefit solution provider in Canada to offer a release of funds through the incurred but not reported (IBNR) reserve program.

An IBNR reserve is an amount of premium that insurers set aside to pay "run-off claims" that occurred while the health and dental policy was in effect, but were not submitted for payment until after the insurance coverage was terminated. In typical insured health and dental plans, if the IBNR reserve is greater than the run-off claims, the insurance firm retains the extra amount.

The GroupHEALTH Release of Reserve program now allows clients with 16 or more employees covered for extended health and dental to receive back the amount funded into their IBNR reserve. If they are a new client, they may choose not to fund an IBNR reserve at all. (In this case, if a company terminated their plan, they would be expected to fund the run-off claims themselves or have the new insurer assume the claims.) The GroupHEALTH Release of Reserve program gives employers more flexibility and control over how their employee benefits plan is funded, leaving working capital in their hands and allowing them to retain the frequent overspend on run-off payments (the difference between the funded IBNR reserve and the actual amount necessary to pay the claims).

Said Houghton: "This is exciting news for many of our clients. It gives back additional money they may not have even known was there and wouldn't receive from other group benefit providers. Since we are the only ones in Canada to offer a release of IBNR reserve program, it strongly differentiates us from the competition. We give money back - that's a pretty great thing to be able to say to clients."

Founded in a basement in Prince George, B.C. in 1982, GroupHEALTH Benefit Solutions (www.grouphealth.ca) has more than 225 staff members in offices in Vancouver, Surrey, Port Coquitlam, Calgary, Edmonton, Burlington and Barrie. They insure more than 3,700 client organizations across Canada in both the public and private sectors, supporting in excess of 320,000 Canadians with their employee benefits plans and group insurance. GroupHEALTH is differentiated by its singular focus on delivering client solutions that prioritize cost containment and value adds to ensure long-term benefit program sustainability. This combination helps employers to cost effectively take care of their employees.

For more information or an interview with CEO Matt Houghton, please contact Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies at: paul@ahacreative.com or 604-303-1052.