Client Advocacy: Improving our inclusivity practices

Diego is married to Jeff, who is included as a dependent on Diego’s benefits plan. When Jeff travels outside of Canada, they sometimes have to provide proof of insurance. Both our digital and paper coverage cards, however, include the insured person’s first name and surname, not the dependent’s. This means Jeff’s name isn’t on the document.

When travelling, if Jeff is questioned about their relationship to Diego, Jeff would have to divulge that they are Diego’s spouse – something that isn’t safe to share. “When we travel internationally, and are asked to provide proof of travel insurance for Jeff, we buy a separate policy because we do not know who is asking, or how they feel about gay people,” they wrote to us.

When Diego reached out to us, we started with care by acknowledging their experience and emphasizing our commitment to diversity and inclusion practices. We sent Diego a customized travel letter for Jeff – one that had Jeff’s name on it and all the necessary policy details. This letter gave them the freedom to travel internationally without concerns they would have to share their relationship status with anyone.

Diego thanked us for providing Jeff with a customized travel letter. They hoped that sharing their experience could lead to a broader change for all of our Clients who need travel letters.

Thanks to Diego, we now recognize how we present coverage information can cause some Clients to feel isolated. We’re looking at improving the way we generate our coverage cards and the personal information we include on them. We don’t have a fast or easy solution yet, but we’re taking action and looking for ways to improve the experience for all our Clients.