An employer contributes to a group insurance plan covering illness or accidents, disability insurance, salary insurance, and health insurance, to which it will add coverage for critical illness and travel insurance coverage, including an optional luggage insurance plan.
In the course of a general discussion, and in relation to the exception for a "private health services plan," the Agency indicated that only the part of the plan that was essentially limited to the coverage of hospitalization and mental expenses described in s.118.2(2) could constitute a private health insurance plan and that only the premiums paid for that portion of the plan would not be a taxable benefit to the employee.
Regarding the second exception in s. 6(1)(a) for a group sickness or accident insurance plan, and in relation to the travel insurance coverage, it indicated that the part of the premiums paid other than for protection against illness or accident could be taxable and, indeed, it appeared that the insurance was not intended to replace employment income with benefits in the event of illness or accident.