QUICK GUIDE TO EMPLOYEE HEALTH BENEFITS FOR ASSOCIATIONS

Quick Guide to Employee Health Benefits for Associations

One of the most common ways for an organization to purchase employee benefits is through an association. And one of the most effective ways for an association to provide value to its member organizations is by offering access to employee benefits providers and plans. The good news is that GroupHEALTH is an association expert – we work with many associations across Canada to provide a unique and better association (and member organization) experience.

What Do We Mean By “Association”?

An “association” is simply a collection of organizations – businesses or non-profits – that work together for a common goal. At GroupHEALTH we work with four different types of “associations”:

• Voluntary trade associations, which usually work on behalf of member organizations for their general interest or for a specific interest;
• Mandatory trade or licensing associations, in which member organizations must belong for regulatory reasons;
• Buying groups, in which a group of member organizations work together to achieve lower supplier pricing or achieve economies of scale, and
• Franchisors, where “member organizations” are bound by a franchise agreement.

Voluntary trade associations are usually, but not always, sector-specific. For example, GroupHEALTH partners with every provincial trucking association in Canada, as well as the Canadian Trucking Association. However, the Community Services Benefits Trust, another key GroupHEALTH partner, works not only in the community services sector but also for other types of organizations, particularly in the non-profit sector. In this case, CSBT is an association that is focused entirely on ensuring that member organizations get a great benefits plan.

Often the value of joining an organization is simply networking and sharing best practices. This is where a partner like GroupHEALTH comes in: by working with an association, associations can offer a “benefits best practice” to their member organizations.

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Why Associations Need A Benefits Partner

It’s likely that member organizations of an association need an employee benefits plan, and it’s likely that, without an association, they’re doing what everyone else is doing to find one: searching online, or getting a referral from a friend or competitor, or asking their current insurance broker or financial advisor to provide a plan. But they are not likely the only member organization to face this challenge, so why not leverage the power of their association membership to find a solution for everyone?

By partnering with an association GroupHEALTH become a preferred provider, a partner that has a clear understanding of what member organizations typically need in an employee benefits plan, who makes access to our experts easy, and who provides more value through better services and advantageous pricing. Member organizations also get a trusted partner, a supplier that’s already been vetted by the association and other organization members.

Fundamentally, by partnering with GroupHEALTH the value of association membership is strengthened: “join our association and get more.”

Associations Get More, Too

GroupHEALTH’s partnerships with Canadian associations go beyond offering more to member organizations: associations get more, too.

GroupHEALTH’s unique sponsorship model for associations can mean revenue for eligible associations. This revenue can be used by associations to support member programs, provide financial support to member organizations, or even assist with association overhead. Even better, revenue grows with the success of the program – as more member organizations choose a GroupHEALTH benefit plan, the association benefits alongside them.

One of GroupHEALTH’s most powerful association advantages is our active marketing approach. We take our preferred provider status seriously, becoming members of the association ourselves, participating in association events and activities and leveraging association marketing and communications channels to provide expertise and awareness. But our approach goes even deeper: GroupHEALTH’s association marketing team engages in association-branded outreach activities to member organizations, encouraging them to meet with our experts and offering ongoing engagement to assess member organization needs and to offer solutions. Because we offer a sponsorship model, our success becomes each association’s success.

And we don’t forget about “head office”: very often associations themselves have employees who need employee benefits, and GroupHEALTH specializes in these plans, too!

Why Your Member Organizations Need A Preferred Provider

Employee benefits can be a significant expense, both in time and money, and it’s crucial that employee benefits providers are reliable and cost-effective. By choosing GroupHEALTH as the preferred employee benefits provider, associations can be confident that their member organizations are working with a trusted provider.

GroupHEALTH is Canada’s market leader for financially-sustainable benefit plans. Our unique approach is to balance both sides of the benefits equation: providing a superior benefits experience to employers and employees, and doing so in a way that protects a member organization’s balance sheet. Our extensive portfolio of cost-containment solutions and superior technology platforms ensures financial stability without sacrificing coverage or service.

We avoid one-size-fits-all approaches, where member organizations have to choose an off-the-shelf plan and hope that it meets their needs. Instead, GroupHEALTH works with association leaders and member organizations to develop plan features and components that are especially important for their sector. Our distinctive configuration approach means highly flexible benefit plans that grow and change with member organizations.

By working closely with associations and member organizations GroupHEALTH’s exclusive network of Advisor Partners develops deep expertise in a given membership base or sector. This means better plan designs and exceptional advice. It also means that member organizations get the benefit of specialization: our Advisor Partner network focuses on employee benefit plans specifically, not insurance generally so that member organizations get better, not average.

Key to our value is the partnership we have with each association. GroupHEALTH’s team collaborates to build insight into what’s important for the association and their member organizations, and this partnership “bakes” accountability into our relationship: when member organizations succeed, the association succeeds. And when the association succeeds, GroupHEALTH succeeds.

Now Is The Time to Partner With GroupHEALTH

Does your association currently offer a preferred provider benefit plan, but it’s just not doing enough? Are you looking for ways to provide more value to your member organizations? Does your association need new revenue streams? Talk to GroupHEALTH’s Association Team for more information about what we can do for your association and for your member organizations.

Whether you’re looking for extended health and dental coverage, disability coverage, or life and critical illness coverage, GroupHEALTH has affordable benefits packages that work as hard as you do.