Premium Reductions Announced
Small-and medium-sized businesses are dealing with the most challenging economic crisis of our time. Our insurance partners are committed to doing their part to help ease the financial burden on plan sponsors during this difficult period.
You may have already seen that insurers are reducing premiums for small business clients with insured health and dental plans. The insurers will be offering these reductions in response to a drop in paramedical, vision and dental claims usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our updated listing of premium relief measures by carrier can be found on our Support Portal.
This may mean your deductions to your staff will also need to be reduced if you share the health and dental portion of the premiums.
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Legislation Receives Royal Assent
On April 11, 2020, Bill C-14, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2 received Royal Assent after being passed by Parliament and the Senate. This Act implemented the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”), a 75% wage subsidy for eligible employers. This subsidy is available for up to 12 weeks, retroactive from March 15, 2020 until June 6, 2020.
The Federal Government first announced the CEWS on March 27, 2020 as an additional support for businesses and workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 8, 2020, the Federal Government announced additional details and changes to the CEWS, which revised the program’s eligibility requirements and allowed for additional businesses to qualify for the wage subsidy program.
The COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2 further expanded criteria to determine eligibility so that employers may be eligible for more than one period based on a single monthly revenue comparison. These amendments may allow additional employers to access the CEWS.
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