A Third Party Administrator (TPA) plays an important role in managing employee group benefit plans on behalf of employers. As an intermediary between insurers and employers, TPAs offer key services such as benefit plan design, insurer negotiations, claims processing, premium collection, underwriting, customer service, just to name a few.

While many TPAs have joined the Canadian health insurance space, it is important to note that not all are created equal. Some TPAs are nothing more than a broker in disguise. They simply charge a TPA fee to enhance their bottom line but offer very limited incremental value. Other TPAs offer a host of different services ranging from client support to disability management, consolidated billing to software platforms for employee members and plan administrators alike. Then there are those who offer tremendous value-added programs like Employee Assistance Programs to specialty and hybrid insurance product solutions like premium refund models as part of the total benefit solution.

With such a range in offerings under one definition, there has been a rising need to establish a uniform standard of guidelines and a code of professional conduct to protect the trust many plan sponsors have placed with TPAs.

The Third Party Administrator Association of Canada (TPAAC) has gone out to do just that. They are an association that strives to promote standardized and sound administrative practices among TPAs. The process to obtain membership with the TPAAC involves detailed review and auditing by KPMG LLP on key agreements, systems, processes and policies. As of December 2019, Beneplan is proud to announce that we have officially become members of the TPAAC. We will continue to be prime examples of best in class TPAs in Canada through the value we bring to our customers everyday. For those plan sponsors who are interested in partnering up with a TPA, we recommend reading “Questions to Ask Your TPA” or reaching out to us at admin@beneplan.ca.