Desjardins Insurance has teamed up with TELUS Health to provide health and wellbeing services to over 500,000 group insurance clients. These plan members include the 57,000 employees and managers of Desjardins Group.
The announcement comes on the heels of a contract the health and wellbeing solutions provider landed with Walmart, which will benefit its nearly 100,000 employees.
Specifically, Desjardins Insurance will now offer its employee groups TELUS Health’s employee assistance program, a service that was previously provided by Dialogue.
A logical choice
Desjardins Insurance already offers other TELUS Health services. “This new collaboration with TELUS Health was a natural choice for us. Having looked to them since 2019 for virtual care solutions for members of our plans, we’ve seen firsthand how dependable and rigorous their resources are,” says Marie-France Amyot, Vice-President, Group and Business Insurance at Desjardins Insurance.
Amyot told Insurance Portal that after analysis and discussion with its two partners, Desjardins Insurance decided to procure its whole service offering from TELUS Health. The VP points out that the insurer offers not only telemedicine, but also employee and manager assistance programs. “The new partnership with Telus Health better meets Desjardins Insurance’s intentions to evolve its service offering in virtual care,” she adds.
Mental health a major issue
Amyot believes that this partnership with TELUS Health also allows Desjardins “to better respond to the needs expressed by our clients, in a context where mental health has become a major issue for them and their organizations.” The VP, Group and Business Insurance at Desjardins Insurance says she favours a proactive approach that aims to integrate more health and wellbeing services into group plans and its product offering to promote employee happiness.
Mental health has been a fundamental part of overall wellbeing for some years now. Amyot specifies that her goal is to foster mental health in the workplace along with a safe and motivating environment. “As an insurer, it's important to us,” she says.
Long-standing relationship
TELUS Health says it has built on its long-standing business relationship with Desjardins Insurance to expand the scope of its Employee and Manager Assistance Programs “for Desjardins.” This expansion includes mental health support for issues such as anxiety and depression, and crisis management such as a traumatic event or workplace incident. The provider also includes legal and financial support and referral services to find the right care for a loved one, among a wide array of other services.
“This is a strategic initiative between two strong business leaders focused on improving the health and wellness of Canadians,” comments Martin Bélanger, Vice-President Health Benefits Management, TELUS Health. “Through this partnership we have delivered a best-in-class and fully customized solution across the continuum of care allowing one of Canada's largest insurers to provide access to preventative services so that more people are empowered to live their healthiest lives,” he explains.
