Tag Archives: Curry Financial Group

19. The CGIB CHIP Plan with Dave Patriarche



Strides are constantly being made in the group benefits industry to better support employers who can then better support their employees.

In this episode, Lorne Curry sits down with Dave Patriarche, founder of Canadian Group Insurance Brokers (CGIB), as they talk about a new program that CGIB is offering. Dave saw a need in the industry to provide more specific technical training geared towards the complexities of group benefits, and speaks about how he addressed this need.

Dave discusses: 

  • Why CGIB felt the need to create a pooled hybrid plan, and why they thought employers needed it
  • How a pooled program works to better protect employers and employees
  • Why CGIB chose to partner with Benefits by Design to implement their program
  • How the program works and compares to a traditional benefit program
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Dave Patriarche:

Connect With Lorne Curry


18. Giving Another Perspective to Group Benefits with Mike McClenahan



Sometimes being able to access information from another perspective can help you understand it better.

In this episode, Lorne Curry invites Mike McClenahan, VP of Partner Solutions with People Corporation and president of TPAAC, onto the show. Lorne and Mike discuss various aspects of group benefits to get Mike’s unique perspective from the supplier side.

Mike discusses: 

  • High prescription drug costs and the trend of more employers putting a cap on spending
  • Stop-loss and pooling levels in group benefits
  • The recent trend of telemedicine taking on more popularity
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Mike McClenahan:

Connect With Lorne Curry


17. An Introduction To Teladoc Health with Isabelle Moreau



Does a service that addresses both physical and mental health and offers coverage to your entire immediate family — sound too good to be true?

In this episode, Lorne Curry sits down with Isabelle Moreau, senior client executive with Teladoc Health, as they discuss the services Best Doctors/Teladoc Health has to offer. Isabelle shares some shocking statistics about both mental and physical health and how Best Doctors/Teladoc Health aims to address them.

Isabelle discusses: 

  • What the Best Doctors/Teladoc Health program is and how it helps people
  • How Teladoc’s mental health program assists individuals to get access to the help they need
  • The physical health services provided by Best Doctors/Teladoc Health
  • Who is eligible to take advantage of the Best Doctors/Teladoc Health services 
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Isabelle Moreau:

Connect With Lorne Curry

About Our Guest:

Isabelle is passionate about building customer relationships and excels at client retention through responsiveness, providing innovative health and wellness initiatives and significant organizational and problem solving strategies. Isabelle specializes in organizational and management consulting, needs assessment, business development, relationship building and customer retention.


16. What to Know About Travel Insurance Before You Travel



As the world begins to open up and allow for more travel, it is important to fully understand how travel insurance works to protect you while you are away.

In this episode, Lorne Curry speaks about how travel insurance fits into employee benefit programs. Lorne teaches you about what travel insurance covers and how the rules and regulations of travel insurance might be changing as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Lorne discusses: 

  • How to determine what will and will not be covered by travel insurance
  • 4 Tips to follow when you travel
  • Travel insurance when travelling within Canada
  • Telemedicine when you are travelling and how it fits into travel insurance
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Lorne Curry


15. Coordination of Benefits



When you and your spouse both have access to benefit plans, you can coordinate them to gain coverage from both insurance companies.

In this episode, Lorne Curry educates you about how coordinating benefits with your spouse works. Lorne touches on the rules that exist when coordinating benefits and speaks about when you might and might not coordinate with your spouse.

Lorne discusses: 

  • How to set up coordination of benefits
  • How to determine whose plan pays for what portion of coverage
  • How coordination of benefits works with common-law relationships, separations and divorces
  • What happens to coordinated benefits when one spouse loses their job
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Lorne Curry


14. The Total Compensation Statement



Being able to show your employees exactly what they are getting in their compensation package could be the key in attracting and retaining good employees.

In this episode, Lorne Curry helps you understand what a total compensation statement is, and why it is important to use them for your employees. Lorne discusses how to create a statement so you can help your employees understand the benefits they are receiving.

Lorne discusses: 

  • The four main reasons you should be providing total compensation statements for your employees
  • What you should be including in your statements
  • How often you should be providing statements to your employees
  • Negative consequences for not properly creating total compensation statements
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Lorne Curry


13. Employee Programs That Address Substance Use with Elliot Stone



There is often a disconnect between employees and employers when it comes to needing assistance with substance use. The stigma involved creates a barrier that blocks the employee from reaching out and finding help.

Luckily, there is a confidential program that exists so employers can help not only their employees, but their employee’s families as well.

In this episode, Lorne Curry invites Elliot Stone, CEO and co-founder of ALAViDa onto the show. Lorne and Elliot speak about the ALAViDA program and how it works to assist employers and employees.

Elliot discusses: 

  • How ALAViDA provides virtual care for all substances
  • How the ALAViDA program works
  • Using ALAViDA with employee assistance programs
  • Challenges that companies face in changing their approach to substance use
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Elliot Stone:

Connect With Lorne Curry

About Our Guest:

Elliot brings a new perspective to the world of addiction medicine. After tireless research into alternatives to conventional alcohol treatment, Elliot pulled together world leading clinicians and researchers to create a treatment experience that puts the patient first. He brings a focused direction to providing evidence-based, collaborative care in a non-judgmental environment.


12. Controlling the Costs of Drug Plans



When you begin to look at the drug landscape, pricing can get tricky. It’s helpful to work with someone who can assist you in creating plans based on your own unique goals. 

In this episode, Lorne Curry dives into the topic of employee drug plans and how the costs of prescription drugs can be managed. Lorne helps employers understand their options when it comes to funding these plans by looking at 3 main scenarios.

Lorne discusses: 

  • Questions that employers need to answer before creating a drug plan
  • Three ways that a drug plan can be funded by an employer
  • Setting caps on what the employer will pay for prescriptions within a plan
  • And more

Resources: 

Connect With Lorne Curry


Episode 10 – Shopping For Your Benefits Plan



There are lots of things to take into account when you are shopping for a benefit plan that is going to suit you and your goals. 

In this episode, Lorne Curry teaches you what goes into marketing your benefit. Lorne helps you identify what you need to know about this process and emphasizes the importance of working with someone you trust. 

In this episode, you will learn:

  • How often you should be shopping for benefits  
  • Why you should limit yourself to working with one advisor that you trust 
  • How to select the right plan for your needs 
  • Important factors to consider when comparing quotes from insurance carriers
  • And more!

Tune in now to learn the importance of understanding the shopping for benefits process! 

Resources: Lorne Curry | Curry Financial Group | Group Benefits headquarters