1. Why did the ORWP have to be mandatory for all OREA Members?
Our goal was to get the best Program for the best price for our Members. The only way to do that was to leverage the buying power of our membership. With 96,000 REALTORS® across the province, we’re able to obtain a benefits plan that costs a fraction of what a Member would be charged as an individual. If Members were opting out of the plan, the price would go way up and undercut our goal of offering an affordable safety net for all.
2. I’m over 65 and I’ll pay the same premium as younger Members, but only get half the coverage. How is that fair? Sounds like age discrimination.
As you probably know, insurance gets more expensive as we age. But we were determined to ensure that all OREA Members would pay the same amount for the Standard Plan of the ORWP. Yes, it’s true that Members over 65 will receive a lower level of coverage than younger Members. But what’s important to understand is that the ORWP offers extensive and accessible benefits for seniors, and they are still paying far less than they would if they tried to get the same level of coverage as individuals.
Here are a few examples that our broker provided:
- For a 65-year-old REALTOR®, $50,000 of Life Insurance alone would cost them $1,456 per year and the entire benefits package would be $3,899 if they bought it on their own.
- For a 70-year-old REALTOR®, the cost of $50,000 of Life Insurance alone would cost them $2,864 per year and the entire package would be $5,126 if they bought it on their own.
- For an 80-year-old REALTOR®, the cost of $50,000 of Life Insurance alone would cost them $5,366 per year and they also receive healthcare services, mental health support, and $100,000 of Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance.
In the above cases, the ORWP provides coverage for older Members at a much lower rate. The ORWP costs a fraction of the amount for comparable coverage, and the inclusion of Life Insurance, healthcare coverage, and Out-of-Country Medical Emergency Travel Insurance significantly benefits senior REALTORS®.
3. I already have a benefits plan myself or I have one through my spouse. I don’t need this.
For Members who already have a benefits and insurance plan through a spouse, the ORWP can be maximized to top-up coverage. Even if your spouse leaves their job and loses their benefits plan, you'll still be covered by the ORWP.
For Members who may have coverage through a previous employer or personally, they will also be able to maximize the coverage through the ORWP.
Another major benefit is that, unlike insurance plans for individuals, there are no questionnaires or medical tests required for enrollment in the ORWP.
It’s also important to understand that the majority of OREA Members do not have comprehensive coverage. A recent Member survey showed that 73% of Members have no Critical Illness Insurance, and 60% have no healthcare coverage.
Nine Boards and Associations already offer Life Insurance and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance to 78% of the OREA membership, paid through dues. In a 2019 survey, Members told us that a safety net was a top desire. We’ve heard many stories of Members who were devastated by a health emergency and could really benefit from an insurance and benefits plan. This year, we decided to take tangible steps to see if we could offer comprehensive coverage to all 96,000 Members.
We believe that all Members deserve access to a safety net. We’ve worked hard to pull together a Program that has important benefits at an affordable rate.
4. Why did the process happen so quickly and without a full referendum of the Members to decide on the future of the ORWP and the corresponding dues increase?
As a Member organization, OREA consistently engages with its Members to enhance support services and find opportunities to deliver value. In 2019, through the Big Bold Ideas campaign, OREA consulted with Members about what support they'd like from their association. In that survey, Members identified a benefits program as a top desire. This sparked discussions that eventually led to the formation of the REALTOR® Wellness Task Force.
The Task Force was created with no preconceived outcome. Its mandate was to explore opportunities and ultimately bring forward a recommendation to the OREA Board of Directors. The Task Force has dedicated countless hours to research, analysis, and collaboration with Member Boards, insurance consultants, and industry experts from across Canada.
The details have been posted on the ORWP website for months and we actively sought input from all Members through a survey.
At the Special Meeting of the Association in June, there were three different opportunities for Member Board representatives to raise criticisms or concerns. Not a single person spoke up with a dissenting view about the ORWP. Some of the individuals who remained silent during the Special Meeting have instead voiced their displeasure on social media. The result of the Special Meeting was that 80% of OREA's Assembly (voting nominees from 34 Member Boards across the province) voted in favour of the Program – that’s a solid, democratic mandate that we think should be respected.
In other words, an idea that has been around for years has come together with a Program that was developed by experts who were hired via competitive RFPs. That was then followed by months of intensive consultations and outreach.
More details on the ORWP’s timeline:
- We first let Member Boards know about the more detailed exploration of a benefits program at Peak Leadership in January 2023.
- The REALTOR® Wellness Task Force was set up, with real estate leaders from across Ontario, to study whether the idea was viable. They consulted widely with Members, Member Boards/Associations, insurance experts, and other consultants from across Canada.
- We sent out an RFP in February for a consultant or insurance broker to advise us on the options.
- Then in April there was another, highly competitive RFP for an insurance provider.
- As the Program started to come together, we actively encouraged both Members and Member Boards to submit their input via a survey on the ORWP website.
We think it’s time to deliver a program that’s going to have a big impact on the lives of 96,000 REALTORS® across the province.
5. I’ve been reading allegations on social media about the nature of the Program. I've seen posts that the ORWP is just a money-making scheme for OREA, that the people who pushed it are also getting money for it, that this was an insider deal with the broker/insurance provider and the work went to someone’s friend, and that someone searched the OREA website and found a reference that there was an attempt to keep quiet the part about the new plan being mandatory. Is any of this true?
It’s really a shame that some people have been spreading lies and misinformation, and that hardworking OREA volunteers are being attacked and defamed on social media.
Here’s the truth: OREA is doing this for the benefit of the Members, the ORWP is in no way any kind of money-making scheme, and this has been an open and transparent process from the beginning.
The Task Force is comprised of Members who are taking time away from their own business to help other REALTORS®, with absolutely no personal benefit. If anything, they’re losing money by donating their time.
There was a competitive process to select both the broker and insurance provider. The Request for Proposal for a broker was issued on February 15th, 2023, to select a proponent as an insurance broker or consultant and/or administrator to source high quality resources. We invited six insurance brokers, and four responded. Comprehensive Benefit Solutions Ltd. (CBS) was then chosen as the broker. CBS launched the RFP for insurance providers on April 6, and invited 19 insurers and providers to submit. They received quotations from eight providers. The results were presented to the REALTOR® Wellness Task Force to make a recommendation to the OREA Board of Directors on May 10.
OREA has been upfront about the ORWP from the beginning. We fully disclosed everything about the Program on the ORWP website, including the need to have participation from all 96,000 Members.
These allegations are all examples of how much misinformation and misunderstanding about the Program has been spread on social media. We want everyone to understand the facts, and our Members deserve to know the facts.
6. How are smaller Member Boards supposed to find the resources to do all this?
We recognize that we’re asking Member Boards to play a key role in the rollout of the ORWP, and we know some Member Boards have limited resources. That’s why OREA will be sharing Administration fees with Member Boards to defray costs in the first two years as we phase the Program in, and will split the Administration fees equally in the third year onwards to defray the costs after that. It’s important to remember that Members of smaller boards, specifically, are the ones who would not normally have access to a benefit plan like this, due to the size and lack of buying power from their membership.
7. OREA has $70,000,000 in reserves. Why can’t you use that money to reduce the costs for individuals and for smaller boards?
OREA would be jeopardizing our status as a not-for-profit organization if we did that, based on the Canada Revenue Agency’s very specific rules. Keep in mind that OREA is limiting the costs for individual Member Boards. We will be paying for most of the administrative costs for the first two years and sharing them equally after that.
8. Given all the complaints, why not step back from this project and delay it, or put it to a vote of the full membership?
OREA has a duty to respect the democratic process. That’s why it's important for us to respect the decision made by Member Board voting nominees from across the province at the Special Meeting of the Association.
We have an opportunity to deliver on something that’s really important to Members and we wanted to get it done. And when it was put to a vote at the Special Meeting, no one raised objections and it passed with nearly 80 percent of Member Board voting nominees voting in favour.
We have heard from many REALTORS® who say there has to be a better way than just contributing to GoFundMe campaigns to help REALTORS® in distress and support those who haven’t been able to prioritize adequate treatment for their mental and physical wellbeing.
9. I’m reading that some pre-existing conditions might not be covered in the ORWP. Can you explain?
Unlike the majority of private plans, there will be no questionnaires, no medical tests, nor exclusions for pre-existing conditions to be eligible for enrollment in the ORWP. Meaning, Members cannot be denied entry into the Program, as long as they are a Member in good standing.
This eliminates a significant barrier to entry, as it is uncommon in the insurance industry. The Task Force is proud to offer a Program that prioritizes accessibility for all and removes what can be an insurmountable barrier for many.
Members will be able to access coverage at a fraction of the cost of what they would pay as individuals for all the coverage included in the ORWP's Standard Plan. The coverage includes:
- Life Insurance: $100,000
- Critical Illness Insurance: $25,000
- Healthcare: $2,000 worth of coverage at 70% re-imbursement
- Prescription drugs: $750 per year
- Paramedical practitioners: $750 combined limit per year
- Medical services and supplies: $500 combined limit per year
- Ambulance: unlimited
- Accidental dental: unlimited
- Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance: $100,000
- Out-of-Country Emergency Medical Travel Insurance: 30 consecutive days, until age 80, with a $2,000,000 lifetime maximum
- Member and Family Assistance Program and Virtual Healthcare Service by Maple
We have been advised by our Broker that there are some provisions within the Critical Illness Insurance and Emergency Out-of-Country Travel Insurance policies related to pre-existing conditions that may limit the eligibility for coverage and the payment of claims in certain situations.
- Critical Illness Insurance
- The ORWP will not cover an illness that was diagnosed prior to the coverage effective date, nor will it provide coverage for any illness for which the existence of symptoms which would cause an ordinarily prudent person to seek diagnosis, care or treatment within a 12-month period preceding the Insured Person’s Effective Date, or an illness or condition for which the Insured Person, during 12 months prior to the Effective Date of their coverage incurred medical expenses, received medical treatment, took prescribed drugs or medicine or consulted a Medical Doctor. The insurance company will assess on a case-by-case basis.
- The 23 conditions covered by Critical Illness Insurance are: Aortic Surgery, Aplastic Anemia, Benign Brain Tumour, Blindness, Coma, Deafness, Dementia including Alzheimer’s Disease, Heart Attack (Acute Myocardial Infarction), Heart Valve Replacement or Repair, Kidney Failure, Life-Threatening Cancer, Loss of Independent Existence, Loss of Limbs, Loss of Speech, Major Organ Failure on a Waiting List, Major Organ Transplant, Motor Neuron Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Occupational HIV Infection, Parkinson’s Disease and Specified Atypical Parkinsonian Disorders, Quadriplegia/Paraplegia/Hemiplegia, Severe Burn, and Stroke (Cerebrovascular Accident)
- Out-of-Country Emergency Medical Travel Insurance
- The ORWP will not provide coverage for any treatment, investigation or surgery for a specific condition, which had caused a physician to advise you not to travel; any sickness or Injury that, at the time of departure, might reasonably be expected to require you to undergo treatment, investigation, surgery or hospitalization; or a medical condition that had deteriorated, or had to be treated or investigated in the three months immediately preceding your departure from the province or territory of residence.
We know that our 96,000 Members come from all walks of life, and we’ve done our best to develop a Program that has something in it for everyone.
For More Information
For more information, please go to www.orea.com/ORWP. You may also send any inquiries to orwp [at] orea.com (orwp[at]orea[dot]com).
