Benecaid

Infobox Company
company_name = Benecaid
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 2000 |
location = flagicon|Canada Toronto, Ontario, Canada
industry = Financial Services (Insurance)
products = Health spending accounts - both Health and Welfare Trust and Private Health Services Plan ,Administrative Services Only,
company_slogan = "Health Benefits. Simplified."|
homepage = http://www.benecaid.com/

Benecaid is a Canadian financial services company focused on the delivery and administration of employee health benefit solutions. They focus on the administration of health spending accounts (HSAs) - in the form of a Health and Welfare Trust (HWT) or Private Health Services Plan (PHSPs). They also provide Administrative Services Only (ASO) plans for group health benefits. Benecaid has over 1,800 clients across Canada and is based in Toronto.

History

Founded in 2000, the company was created by small business owners frustrated with the group health benefits options available to Canadian employers. With a team of Chartered Accountants and Lawyers, they researched the IT bulletins released by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), specifically those related to HSAs (IT-85R2) [IT-85R2 - Health & Welfare Trusts for Employees, Revenue Canada, July 31, 1986.] . They have since developed a suite of financial products for small to medium sized busiensses focused on cost-containment and employee appreciation. They are a strong supporter of the Consumer driven health care where employers provide employees with greater involvement and control in their day-to-day healthcare spending - particularly through an HSA. [Health Trusts Can Help Keep the Bottom Line Fit, Libby Znaimer, Financial Post, Published: Saturday, November 04, 2006]

Third-Party Administration

The company is a third-party administrator or TPA. In recent years, the Canadian health benefits market has seen a significant increase in the number of TPAs entering the market. Today, according to a recent article in Benefits Canada, TPAs represent around 10% of the group health insurance market in Canada.

Branding

In addition to their products, the company is known for their unique branding initiative within the Canadian Insurance industry. Launched in 2006, the company's new brand features a bright green rectangle logo with the slogan "Health Benefits. Simplified". The goal of Benecaid's marketing team was to create an identity differentiating themselves from the traditional and conservative insurers dominating the Canadian economy. Their "Food for Thought" campaign uses minimalist ads featuring fruits and vegetables with witty tag-lines linking the image to an issue being faced by small-medium sized employers. For example, in one ad, a picture of an onion appears with the tag-line "Insurance Premiums can make you want to cry. Stop crying. Start Saving."

Technology

Given the company's recent entry into the market, technology has been easier to implement versus many of the traditional carriers with multiple systems. The third-pary administration and insurance services industry is very manual requiring a large investment in human capital. Benecaid has been able to build their platform from scratch, allowing for many of the manual processes to be automated. With automation of the services to support their products, the company has promoted themselves as a lower cost alternative to other carriers.

References