Important – 2023-2024 Professional Liability Insurance Program Renewal

There are a number of questions every year surrounding insurance and how the insurance renewal works. Here’s a bit of and summary for your next steps to ensure that you do not get that “suspended” notice from the Alberta College of Paramedics (ACP). 

If you are an existing member of the Alberta Paramedic Association (Association) follow these steps: 

  1. Log into your account and check your profile. Ensure your information, including your credit card, is unchanged. If everything is good don’t need to purchase insurance as you are on an automatic renewal. We urge you to go to our website at albertaparamedics.ca and log in or use this link My Account and log in and update your profile. 
  2. Once you’ve logged in and you’ve updated your account information (if necessary), click the “Resources” tab at the top of the page and the click the big box that says “PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE”. 
  3. Scroll down to the page to find the new 2023 new group policy number. Use this number to enter into your ACP insurance information and change the dates to reflect the 2023 year. 

It is important to know that insurance companies don’t issue the new individual certificates until December 31 at midnight. This is because they don’t release these numbers until they are effective. Prolink and the Association also wants you to know that there is a grace period each year for members that goes until January 31 (see below), that is why we give you the new group policy number in advance so you don’t have to worry about not being insured.  IF for some reason, you are not able to access your account for the 2023 Group Policy Number, you may go into your ACP account and extend the expiry date to January 31, 2024 – But only do this as a last resort. 
 
If you wish to become a new member and purchase the membership along with the professional liability insurance, do the following: 
  

  1. Go to the Association Website and scroll down to the box that says “Become a Member” and click it. 
  2. Once there, click the box that says “Full Member” 
  3. You will then see the “Full Membership with Liability Insurance” information and the cost. Scroll down the page and click “Proceed to checkout” 
  4. Fill out the required information including billing and payment information and when done click “Sign Up”. 
  5. Once everything is processed you may have to log in again. Once you’re in, go to the “Resources” tab at the top of the page and the click the big box that says “PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE”. 
  6. Scroll down to the page to find the new 2023 new group policy number. Use this number to enter into your ACP insurance information and change the dates to reflect the 2023 year. 

Extra Information 

As a returning or new member, you should be aware of the following: 

  1. The new 2023 Policy Group Number: To find this, you need to log into your Association account and follow the above steps. 
  2. Policy Term: January 1st. 2023 – January 1st. 2024; 
  3. Coverage Amount: $5,000,000 limit per claim with an aggregate policy limit of $5,000,000; 
  4. Deductible: $500; 
  5. Annual Premium per member: $60 when purchased between January 1st. 2023 – June 30th, 2023; 
  6. Pro-rated Premiums: (for individuals joining the program during the master policy period, premiums are to be pro-rated as below); 
    – Members purchasing coverage between July 1st. 2023 – September 30th, 2023:     
      $35/member;
    – Members purchasing coverage between October 1st. 2023 – December 31st.
      2023: $25/member; 
    – Be advised that Association memberships are above the insurance costs. 
  7. ** Policy Fee: As discussed, PROLINK is adding a $1 policy fee to the $60 premium in order to help offset some of the additional IT resource costs they incurred; 
  8. In the event of individual cancellation of a policy, all premiums are fully retained; 
  9. If any member does not renew their membership – Prolink will rely on the Association to not provide Non-renewing members the Master Policy Number; 
  10. Renewing members renewal documents will be released 12:01am on Dec. 31st. with their certificate which will have the Master Policy Number along with their Individual Certificate number included; 
  11. Once you have your new Individual Certificate number, you can update your ACP insurance account accordingly. 
  12. Members can renew up till January 31st, 2023; 
  13. Any member who wishes to renew after January 31st, 2023 will have to be reported as a new business; 

If there are any questions, please contact the Association at info@albertaparamedics.ca

Financial Planning 101

Have you ever thought about where you’ll be 10, 20 or 30 years from now? Does it still involve pushing a stretcher? (Which is okay if that’s your plan because the profession will need dedicated people like you.) Or do your plans include something else? 

The Alberta Paramedic Association (Association) has been talking to paramedics across the province and often the question about the future arises. Some are working multiple jobs within the ground and air ambulance system, some education, some management, some community care or sometimes the work is totally different from EMS. Whether it’s full-time, part-time, casual or a combination of those, paramedics are doing work to secure their future. The question is, whatever your doing, will that be sustainable, and for how long”?  

Statistics Canada states that Millennials carry more than 200% of their after-tax income in debt and mortgage debt is 2.5X’s more than the previous generation. In 2013, 91% of Canadians were below the poverty line when reaching retirement age. Do you think it’s better or worse now? The Association has taken important steps to engage financial advisors associated with World Financial Group to be used specifically by its members. Shawn and  Josh can provide many financial tools to ensure that your hard-earned money is allocated to get you as far as possible while protecting yourself and your loved ones. They are partnered with multiple financial institutions to help clients with insurance, investments, child education, retirement planning, and more. They firmly embrace the concept of “no family left behind”, and will use their expertise to benefit members by increasing financial literacy and to help secure your future regardless of financial standing. Did we mention that their services are free and require no obligation. So, what are you waiting for? Become an Association Member and gain access to our Financial Planning 101 offer. It’s never too late. Don’t let your finances cause undue stress; and allow your money to work for you so you don’t need to work forever.

Helping Every Local Paramedic (HELP) Fund  

The HELP Fund was originally established by the Alberta Paramedic Association (Association) as a pre-organized crowdsourced, pass the hat type fund for families who fell victim of a Line of Duty Death (LODD). 

In its original design, one of our past executive members, envisioned the HELP Fund as a machine that would automatically launch in the event of a tragic loss of anyone within our Alberta family of paramedics. Over the years, the HELP Fund progressed to a point that while the Association’s “Heart” was in the right place, it was decided that it would be important for family to engage the Association either directly or indirectly in order to create a launch. 

Throughout the years, the HELP Fund launched multiple times, for many paramedics. Including the one paramedic executive member whose heart inspired the fund. Our very own Marc Moebis. We miss him greatly. 

One of the reasons the decision was to increase the membership fees this year was not only to adjust for professional costs needed by the Association like IT etc, but also to ensure that the HELP Fund becomes fully sustainable for the future. Here is the plan. 

The Association goal is to give the HELP Fund full charitable status. This means, instead of just passing the hat for families, the fund can build itself and provide charitable receipts for work and donations. Along with this, the Association will be working in 2023 on enlisting expertise from other professions to build a self-governing board that makes decisions outside the Association and can create enhanced policies and processes on eligibility and payment for the fund. This boosts the accountability and status for the fund. 

One would think that developing a full charity would be easy and cheap. After all, it’s charity. It’s to help people. Well, it’s not. That’s why, whether you’re already a member or you going to Become a New Member, we’re allocating money from our membership fees towards the project. Legal Counsel, accountants, writers, etc. are needed for this project. Until it’s completed though, passing the hat is the thing we do. Heaven, forbid we lose another paramedic or a paramedic family faces a loss due to tragic circumstances. We don’t know will happen in 2023, and we pray for the safety of everyone out there, but what we do know today, and where we are headed, is that the HELP Fund will be there, if and when it’s needed.