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Sterling Insights
Stay informed and connected with Sterling’s Insight section. Here, you’ll discover industry updates, news, legislations, and the latest happenings within our company. Stay attuned to the ever-evolving landscape, benefit from valuable insights, and stay updated on all things Sterling to empower your decisions and stay ahead in your journey!
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09/30/2026How to Onboard New Employees Into Your Benefits Plan Without the Confusion
The first few weeks at a new job can be overwhelming. New systems, new people, new rhythms. And then someone hands the new hire a thick envelope and says “you have 31 days to figure out your benefits“. Most employees sign whatever looks right, click whatever is default, and spend the next year confused about […]
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09/24/20261 in 9 drug dollars now goes to GLP-1s. Is your plan ready?
New Canadian data just landed, and it’s a wake-up call for plan sponsors. GLP-1 drugs (eg. Ozempic, Wegovy, Saxenda) now account for an average of 11.1% of annual drug claims among surveyed Canadian employer plans in 2026. That’s roughly 1 in every 9 claim dollars going to a single drug class. Coverage is expanding fast. […]
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09/14/2026Health Spending Accounts vs. Traditional Group Benefits: A Canadian Employer’s Guide
There’s no single right answer here. Some Ontario businesses do best with a traditional group plan. Others are better off with a Health Spending Account. And a lot of growing companies land on a combination of both. What follows is the actual framework for thinking this through, not a sales pitch for either option. You’ll […]
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09/03/2026Stop Treating Employee Benefits as a Cost Centre. Here’s What Smart Canadian Employers Do Instead.
Every budget season, benefits get the same review as the coffee subscription. “What can we cut?“ And every year, the cost of that decision quietly shows up somewhere else. Where the Cost Centre Mindset Leads Cut a little at each renewal. Hold drug maximums flat. Don’t add virtual care. Cap dental at a number that […]
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08/26/2026The Coverage Gap Nobody Is Pricing: What to Expect in Group Benefits Through the Rest of 2026
Halfway through the year, the question we hear most from plan sponsors has not changed: how do we hold the line on cost without hollowing out the plan? What has changed is the answer. Read across this year’s industry research and a clear pattern emerges. The pressure is not coming from benefits that are too generous. […]
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08/22/2026The Top Three Reasons Why Pet Insurance Is Slowly Being Adopted By Canadian Employees.
In most Canadian workplaces, a meaningful share of employees go home to a dog or a cat. Very few of those animals are insured. Only 3.72% of Canadian pets carry health insurance. That figure comes from the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, reported by Benefits Canada in August 2026. Coverage differs sharply by species: […]
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08/15/2026Why 2026 Is the Year Canadian Benefits Plans Have to Get Serious About Weight-Loss Drugs
There is no drug class reshaping Canadian benefits plans faster than GLP-1s. Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound have moved from diabetes management into mainstream weight-loss and, increasingly, cardiovascular care. They are now the single biggest force pulling on plan budgets, plan design and plan-sponsor strategy. In just the past few weeks, a cluster of developments […]
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08/10/2026We’ve Reviewed Hundreds of Benefits Renewals. Here’s the One Number Employers Never Ask For.
Every year the renewal letter arrives. A percentage increase, a paragraph of explanation, and a deadline. Most employers read the increase, wince, negotiate a point or two, and sign. Almost no one asks for the number that produced the increase in the first place. That number is your claims loss ratio. What a claims loss […]
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07/29/2026Alberta Bill 11: Health Statutes Amendment Act Updates
The Alberta government has confirmed key details of Bill 11, the Health Statutes Amendment Act, 2025 (No. 2), since our last update. The legislation received royal assent on December 11, 2025, and insurers have confirmed that both changes affecting group benefits plans will take effect on October 1, 2026. Here is what we now know. […]
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07/27/2026New Brunswick Closes the Gap on Job-Protected Leave
New Brunswick has amended its Employment Standards Act to provide up to 27 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for employees dealing with long-term illness or injury. The change took effect on June 12, 2026 and replaces a policy that guaranteed just five days of protected leave in a 52-week period. Employees qualify after 90 continuous […]
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