Issue link: http://clhia.uberflip.com/i/396046
Saskatchewan residents also paid $651 million, or 23% of the total, on new and existing life insurance policies, purchased primarily to provide future financial security for their families. Premiums for individual life insurance policies totalled $396 million and premiums for group life insurance policies amounted to $255 million. In addition, people in Saskatchewan paid over $1 billion in premiums (including premium equivalents of $277 million for uninsured contracts administered by life and health insurers) for policies reimbursing them for health products and services not covered by government programs, such as drugs and dental treatment, and replacing income lost if the individual is unable to work due to disability. Insured (group and individual) plans accounted for 73% of the total health premiums. About 80% of the insured premiums was from group contracts with employers, unions or other sponsoring organizations while the remainder was for individual health insurance policies. Of the total premiums (and premium equivalents) received for health benefit plans, 23% was for disability income, 37% for medical/hospital coverage (including drug expense), 22% for dental care, and the remainder for other coverages. Policy Payments During 2013, the people of Saskatchewan received $1.9 billion, or about $36.5 million a week, in benefit and dividend payments from life and health insurance policies, as well as annuities. Nationally, the figure was $76.2 billion for the year. Of these payments, almost one dollar in every ten was paid out as death benefits to beneficiaries under life insurance policies or under comparable benefits provided in health insurance contracts. The remainder, more than nine of every ten dollars, went to living policyholders as annuity and disability benefits, reimbursement or payment of health care costs, dividends to policyholders, cash surrender values and matured endowments. Payments under life insurance policies and annuity contracts totalled $287 million and $832 million for the year, respectively. Payments under health and disability benefit plans amounted to $688 million in 2013, including payments of $263 million under uninsured contracts for which life and health insurers provide administrative services only. Of the total payments under insured and uninsured plans, the key components were disability income, 20%; medical/hospital coverage (including drug expense), 45%; and dental care, 28%. Dividend payments to participating policyholders totalled $92 million during 2013 — almost 81% under life insurance policies, 19% under health insurance plans and a negligible amount under annuity contracts.