Frequently Asked Questions

Honeybee Health Account funds are tax-deductible for the company and employees can use these flexible dollars tax free to pay for eligible health and dental expenses. Click here to see a list of eligible expenses.

Honeybee Allowance Account funds are still tax-deductible for employers but are considered a taxable benefit for employees and can be used on a wide array of unique benefits such as wellness, fitness, education, kids, pets, transportation and more. These categories are defined by the employer.

A deductible is the amount of money that an employee will be responsible for paying before their coverage will kick in. For example, an employee who has $500 of annual prescription drug costs and a $200 deductible will be reimbursed for the last $300 spent after having paid an initial $200 out of pocket.

One way Honeybee allows employees to lower the cost of their individual plan is to choose a high deductible. What the employee spends out of pocket can then be claimed for reimbursement under their Honeybee Health Account. For Honeybee members who anticipate low prescription drug costs, this is often a good way to save their Honeybee Health Account dollars for other health expenses.

Co-insurance is the percentage amount of the cost of a service that an insurance provider will pay to cover an employee’s health care costs. It exists in addition to any deductibles.

For example, 80% co-insurance would mean that after the deductible has been satisfied, an employee’s plan would cover up to $160 of a $200 bill (80%) and the employee would then be responsible for the remaining $40. This amount paid out of pocket by the employee can then be claimed for reimbursement under their Honeybee Health Account.

The Honeybee Allowance Account is a spending account funded by the employer that employees can use for special lifestyle expenses. These accounts are used by employers to provide benefits that go above and beyond what is traditionally offered in a benefits plan. Allowance Accounts are designed to represent each company’s unique culture, and may include one or more categories with a monthly limit.

The Honeybee Health Account is a spending account funded by the employer that employees can use for medical expenses. Health Accounts are a popular way to provide flexible benefits that are tax-free for the employee. Each Health Account is different, but may include medical and dental coverage as well as additional funding that can be used for vision expenses (such as prescription glasses or contact lenses), paramedical expenses (such as massage therapy or psychotherapy/counselling) and other eligible expenses. Click here for a full list.

Claims can be easily submitted by taking a picture of your receipt and uploading it for reimbursement through the free Honeybee mobile app, available through the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Yes, as long as the paramedical service/product is rendered by a Licensed Medical Practitioner. Please note that what constitutes as a Licensed Medical Practitioner differs by province/territory for the purposes of claiming medical expense. For example, while massage services may be covered in Ontario, they are not covered in Manitoba.

If you do not complete your enrolment within the defined Enrolment Period, you will be defaulted to the lowest cost medical and dental plans (if applicable) and will be enrolled with single coverage.

The Honeybee Health Account can be used for a wide variety of vision expenses, including prescription glasses, contact lenses, visits to the optometrist, and even laser eye surgery! Honeybee plans are configured to be as flexible as possible, so that every employee can use their benefits in the way that best suits their unique needs. Some employees will have no vision needs and can use their flexible Health dollars for something else. Other employees may have lots of vision expenses, and they can use more of their Health dollars towards these. This is how we ensure that every employee can get the most out of their benefits.

Licensed medical practitioners differ based on each province or territory. However, they are defined as anyone who meets the following criteria:
– Legally allowed to render the service to the individual in the province where the service took place
– Legally certified to perform such a service in the province where the individual resides
– If applicable, is legally licensed to issue a prescription to the individual in the province where the individual resides as well as the province where the prescription is filled

In most situations, yes! Honeybee health accounts, medical plans and dental plans all cover pre-existing conditions. Many Honeybee insurance products also provide coverage for pre-existing conditions, including life insurance, dependent life insurance, and accidental death & dismemberment insurance. Unfortunately, short- and long-term disability and critical illness insurance do not.

Please keep in mind that while your condition may be covered, it is possible that your drug or treatment may not be. For information specific to your unique situation, we recommend reaching out to the Honeybee Customer Care team at 1-866-626-6642.

Honeybee is available to companies across the country. Our license information by province is available here.

Honeybee uses the information you provide to offer you three dental plan options that would best suit your employees’ needs. Dental plans are optional, so it’s up to you the employer to decide if a traditional dental plan is something that your employees will value. Whether or not you opt to include traditional dental coverage in your Honeybee benefits plan, employees can use their Honeybee Health Account funds to pay for eligible dental expenses.

No, dental plans are considered optional. However, if you do decide to select a Honeybee dental plan then your employees will be automatically enrolled unless they have dental coverage through a plan outside of Honeybee. If you decide not to offer your employees a dental plan they can still pay for eligible dental expenses using their Honeybee Health Account funds.

Honeybee offers you the choice of two standard medical plan options that provide essential coverage. Between the two plans, the level of prescription drug coverage and co-insurance will vary.

Yes, life insurance is one of several optional insurance products that many clients choose to include in their Honeybee plans. Additional insurance products include travel, accidental death and dismemberment, short- and long-term disability, and critical illness coverage. If you’re looking for additional group coverage, let us know – our licensed Honeybee experts have relationships with multiple insurance companies and can add additional insurance products as needed.

Yes! When you select one of our medical plans, your Honeybee plan will automatically include out-of-province travel coverage. Speak to a Honeybee Benefits Consultant or your benefits broker for more details about travel insurance.

Absolutely! One of the great things about Honeybee is its flexibility. If you’d like to make changes to any of our standard Honeybee plans, speak with a Honeybee Benefits Consultant or your trusted benefits broker to design the perfect plan that meets your company’s unique needs.

Yes, we make it easy for you to switch from an existing benefits plan to a Honeybee plan. A Honeybee Benefits Consultant would be happy to assist you in this process by working with your benefits broker.

Yes, some companies choose to upgrade their existing plans by adding Honeybee’s flexible Allowance and Health Accounts.

However, companies get the most value out of their Honeybee benefits when they make the switch to a complete Honeybee plan. This way, all your company’s benefits are in one place – making it easy for you to administer, and for your employees to access.

It’s up to you, the employer! Companies can choose to provide the same benefits coverage for all employees, or they can add a “Family Advantage.” This adds a multiplier that will increase the account funding for employees who have a spouse and/or children.

No, Honeybee provides lots of flexibility for you to customize benefits for different groups of employees, commonly known as employee classes (we call them hives!)

Each hive can have different plans and/or products and can be funded at different levels.

Employee classes (we call them “hives” here at Honeybee!) can be easily created for different groups of employees.

Some companies like to keep things simple by creating just one hive with the same benefits for all employees; however, you have the option of creating multiple hives with different plans, products and funding levels.

Hives can be set by position (owners, managers, employees) or employee type (full time and part time), but can’t be configured based on personal qualities like age or gender. We’ll provide you with some standard options, but you can also create your own hives!

Employee customization is one of the best parts about Honeybee! Employees can each decide what to spend their benefit dollars on. Depending on the Honeybee plan you’ve chosen, employees can:
1. Select the deductible level for their prescription drug coverage during enrolment
2. Choose a co-insurance level for their dental plan during enrolment
3. Decide how to spend their Honeybee Heath and Allowance Account funds!

No HR department, no problem! Honeybee was designed with small-to-medium businesses in mind – we know what it’s like to wear multiple hats, and we’ve done our best to make Honeybee easy for anyone in your company to manage. If you need any help along the way, the Honeybee Care Team can jump in.

Honeybee paid plans start with a monthly subscription fee of $10/employee, which provides employees’ access to a Honeybee Health and a Honeybee Allowance Account with no additional fees. From there, you decide how much to deposit into each account, and whether you’d like to add coverage for medical, dental and optional insurance products. More details are available on our Pricing page.

You’re responsible for the monthly Honeybee subscription fee that is paid per active employee. It’s also up to you to fund the Honeybee Health and Allowance Accounts with the amount you set during sign up.

Honeybee allows you to pay quickly and securely through a pre-authorized payment plan. If you’ll be starting with just Honeybee Allowance Accounts, you’ll be asked to pre-fund your accounts. If you are paying a monthly subscription fee for either our Flexible or Complete plan, you can choose between a pre-funded or a pay-as-you-go billing structure during your set up.

The difference between a pre-funded payment plan and a pay-as-you go plan is the timing of your payments.

Pre-funded
Your monthly bill is the same each month and consists of the Honeybee subscription fee (if applicable) and your set monthly deposits into your Honeybee Accounts. With this option, your employees are only able to see their current balance that has been deposited to date.

Pay-as-you-go
Each month you’ll be responsible for paying the Honeybee subscription fee. At the start of your plan, you’ll put an initial deposit into the Honeybee Health and Allowance Accounts. As employees use their funds by submitting claims, we will send you an interim bill weekly, if needed, requesting a top-up to replenish the accounts. With this option, your employees are able to see their full annual account balance.

Not sure which option is right for you? Ask one of our Honeybee experts or your Advisor to help you decide.

Absolutely! Honeybee ensures that all your information is kept safe. While online, we uses Comodo SSL encryption to protect transmissions of your account. The padlock in the address bar of your browser will appear when you are viewing an encrypted (secure) page.

Offline, we store all your information in secure databases that are only accessible by authorized personnel. View our Privacy Policy for more information.

Your employees can start using their plan on the first of the following month. So for example, if you sign up with Honeybee on May 17, employees will be able to start submitting claims on June 1.

Once your employees have finished customizing their accounts, their medical plan is set. At the end of your plan year (12 months from when your benefits go into effect) you’ll be able to implement changes to your group’s medical plan.

Honeybee is designed for growing companies, and our approach to billing and administration makes it easy to add new employees online. Once the new employee has been added and their waiting period (if applicable) is over, your monthly bill is adjusted to reflect the change.

Employees can easily submit a picture of their receipts through the free Honeybee mobile app, available through the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Managing your Honeybee benefits is easy and can all be done securely and conveniently online through MyHoneybee.com.

Once your employees have finished customizing their accounts, their medical plan is set. At the end of your plan year (12 months after you sign up) you’re able to make changes to your group’s medical plan.

All Honeybee plans comply with group insurance standards and require employees to work a minimum of 24 hours per week in order to be eligible.

Adding new employees is easy. Simply log on to MyHoneybee.com to add the employee to your plan and assign them to a hive. They will be sent a welcome email and your monthly bill will be adjusted to reflect the change.

We recommend you enrol your new employee as soon as they start, by adding them through MyHoneybee.com. Your new employee will receive their welcome email with instructions on setting up their plan. Once their benefits waiting period is over (if applicable) they’ll have access to their benefits!

If an employee leaves their group Honeybee plan, they will be able to continue submitting medical, dental (if applicable) and Honeybee Health Account claims for 90 days. They will also be able to continue submitting Honeybee Allowance Account claims for 30 days. This can be customized for your group during your set up. If funds are being deposited quarterly, semi-annually or annually, the unreserved funds that the employee has available to use are pro-rated based on that employee’s termination date.

Unfortunately, no. Once your employees have finished customizing their accounts, their medical plan will be set for the plan year (the 12 months following the day your company’s benefits are activated). At the end of your plan year you will be able to make changes to your group’s medical plan.

Yes, in many instances it’s possible for you to make these changes yourself within the MyHoneybee portal. If you need any assistance, get in touch!