To: Members Insured in the NLTA Group Insurance Plan
From: Maureen Doyle-Gillingham, Chairperson, NLTA Group Insurance Managers
Memo re: Group Insurance Rate Changes for 2021–22
Group Insurance Managers would like to advise members of some important information regarding Insurance Premiums for the 2021-22 fiscal year. This process involves matching premiums with anticipated claims and expenses. For the upcoming year, most rates members are currently paying will not be changing or if they do, it will only result in a slight increase.
Basic Life Insurance will increase by 7.8%, which will translate to an increase of $0.32 per pay period for a member with an $80,000 salary/pension or $0.20 per pay period for a member with a $50,000 salary/pension. Dependent Life Insurance will also see a 5 cent increase per month. Voluntary Life Insurance will see a decrease of approximately 14% while Post 65 Life Insurance will see an increase of 13% or $2.28 per month.
Premium rates for Accidental Death and Dismemberment, and Critical Illness will not be changing.
Long Term Disability rates will be increasing this year by approximately 4.8%. This translates into an increase of $1.77 per pay period for a member with a salary of $80,000. The change is a result of the LTD rate increasing from 1.1% of salary to 1.153% of salary.
Health Premiums continue to be a concern for Group Insurance Managers. As indicated in previous memos, the cost of our Health Program has been increasing at approximately 5% per year. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of paramedical services have resulted in an estimated overall program savings of $1 million. This will be used to reduce the projected increase in Health costs. By applying these savings, Health costs will increase by $1.39 or 2.29% per pay period for single coverage and $2.92 or 3.14% per pay period for family coverage. Group Insurance Managers continually work with the plan administrator to assess the cost pressures on our plan and explore options for managing these costs. Group Insurance Managers are very conscious of the increasing cost of our Health Insurance Program but also recognize that our program provides superior Health Insurance coverage.
As Managers explore different options, additional communication will be sent to members.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a significant impact on access to Dental services this year which has resulted in program savings of approximately $500,000. Group Insurance Managers have decided to use the Dental Surplus to implement a premium holiday for the month of June. This means that members will see no Dental cost deductions for the two pay/pension cheques in the month of June. Managers have also decided to continue Dental Claims reimbursement based on the 2020 Dental Fee Guide. There will be no increase in Dental premiums for members for the upcoming 2021-22 program year which could not have been achieved if we increased reimbursement to reflect the 2021 Fee Guide. We do understand this will likely translate in members paying slightly higher individual costs for Dental procedures. Managers will continue to closely monitor the Dental program this year as COVID-19 is still having an impact and will be revisiting the Dental Fee Guide coverage level for the 2022-23 program year.
For complete information on premium changes please click HERE.
For the 2021 update overview, that includes the current 2021-22 premium rates, please click HERE.
