A PHSP is based on tax legislation and therefore the basic plan does not differ from one supplier to another.

However, as you are buying a long-term product (one that you will keep and use for years), a consumer's main focus should be on the business that is supporting you; in addition to the fees. Since this is a ‘tax product', it is important that the PHSP supplier be able to back you up – both financially as well as with accounting and legal support.

Set up costs can vary from just $40 up to over $1,500, depending on the supplier and what guarantees  they provide. Please remember that the entire set-up cost is a ‘one time' only fee. . Therefore, when compared to the thousands of dollars going through your PHSP plan over the ten to twenty years that you will use this plan, the tax deductible set-up fee becomes insignificant with any of the suppliers.

While we deal with a number of providers, we recommend a PHSP run by a Chartered Trust Company. Why? Because they are regulated by the government under the Financial Institutions Act (like banks) and have the necessary financial and investment expertise that is required to operate as a trust company. Trust companies are also required to have a ‘reserve' (cash float with governmental controls) of from $2 million up to $10 million (depending on province), so they are financially dependable. We will be happy to give you our recommendations.

The usual set-up fee is a one-time only cost of $335 for the base plan plus $40 for each employee added to the plan; plus GST. As mentioned above, this is only for the first year – there are no further set-up fees for any of the following years of the lifetime of the plan. The entire cost is tax deductible.

Some plans do require ‘pre-funding' for employees. 'Large Groups' (6 or more employees) will include a $5.00 monthly 'per employee' administration charge recovered from the fund to cover the direct access to Head Office as well as personal on-line claims information for employees. This also includes a 'real time' fund status for the employer.

Some additonal advantages of a PHSP are: more flexiblity, you can design your own plan, coverage can include higher limits, the scope of coverage is provider and still remain less expensive than a standard group insurance plan.

Allow us to assist you to "custom design your own benefits plan"!