Association Group benefits:
Insurers' flexibility can be a double-edged sword
by Bruce Cappon

You can cut yourself a good deal by availing yourself of the group life or disability insurance offered by your provincial medical association. But if you're not careful you can cut off a valuable part of your fiscal security. An insurers' flexibility to amend costs and benefits provisions under an association group plan can work for or against an insured member depending on particular circumstances.

Up until now, doctors in professional medical association insurance plans have benefited from this flexitility. Insured members have received sizable annual premium refunds and ongoing coverage upgrades, with no increase in premiums. A healthy enviroment for association group plans has included robust plan growth from young, healthy insureds joining the plan, increasing physician incomes, high interest rates and inflation, and a loyal membership who join the association for insurance and other purposes. However, sevearal changes in the existing climate mean this cound change significantly. These changes included:

• an aging physician population