Group Benefits · For Canadian Employers

In a sea of brokerages,
find your Harbour.

Guiding you to better benefits.

Harbour Benefits is an independent group benefits advisor for Canadian employers who want the best for their employees. Not a policy number in a pile. Not a file passed to whoever inherited your account. A client — with an advisor who actually knows your plan.

Book a discovery call See how we're different
100%
Independent — no carrier quotas
1×
Dedicated advisor. Always Blake.
0×
Times you'll be passed to a junior rep
Our position

Some brokerages leave you out at sea — a policy number in a pile of thousands.
We built Harbour for the clients who deserve better than that.

The difference

What you get at a national shop
vs. what you get at Harbour

At the big brokerages…
A different account manager every 18 months
Policy number, not a client name
Renewal reviewed by someone who just inherited your file
Carrier relationships that serve their volume, not your plan
Employees left to navigate claims alone
Scale sold as a substitute for service
vs
At Harbour
Blake. The same person. Every time.
An advisor who knows your plan, your people, and your history
Renewal reviews that start months before your anniversary date
Independent advice — no carrier quota, no conflict of interest
The Harbour Beacon for employees, and direct escalation when it matters
Accountability as a feature, not a footnote

"Access without advocacy isn't advice — it's administration."

Why Harbour

The boutique
advantage

You've probably had a benefits advisor before. You may not have had one who was actually paying attention. Here's what that difference looks like in practice.

One advisor. Always Blake.
No handoffs. No account managers who inherited your file last quarter. When something goes wrong at claim time, you know exactly who to call — and they already know your plan.
Truly independent advice
No carrier quotas. No volume bonuses steering you toward the wrong plan. Our only incentive is a recommendation that actually works for your people.
Technology that serves you
The Harbour Beacon handles routine employee questions around the clock. Blake handles the complex. Your team gets faster answers without more admin burden on HR.
Proactive — not reactive
Renewal reviews months before your anniversary. Market benchmarks so you know if you're over-paying. Plain language explanations — not carrier boilerplate forwarded without comment.
Cost-conscious by design
Pooling, ASO structures, and stop-loss options — all on the table from day one. We design plans that protect your people without protecting carrier margins.
Built for HR teams
We reduce your administrative load — not add to it. Enrolment, employee communications, and carrier escalation handled without you quarterbacking every step.
What we do

Group benefits,
fully managed

We handle the full lifecycle of your group plan — from first quote to annual renewal and everything in between — so you can focus on your people, not the paperwork that surrounds them.

01
Plan design & placement
Market analysis across our carrier panel. Plans built for your headcount and budget — not the carrier's preferred margin or our volume targets.
02
Ongoing plan management
Annual renewal reviews, claims experience analysis, and proactive adjustments before costs drift out of line. No surprises at renewal.
03
Employee support
AI-powered first-touch via the Harbour Beacon, with direct advisor escalation when carriers aren't delivering. Your employees won't be left adrift at claim time.
04
Enrolment & onboarding
Guided enrolment materials, new hire communications, and a process that doesn't require a dedicated benefits administrator on your payroll.
Group Retirement

Financial wellbeing
is a benefits issue

A health plan protects your employees when something goes wrong. A group retirement plan gives them something to look forward to. The two aren't separate conversations — they're the same one.

44%
of Canadian employees say financial stress is their top source of anxiety — above work, health, and relationships.
3×
more likely to report poor health outcomes. Employees under financial stress are three times more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.
$1,700+
in lost productivity per financially stressed employee, per year — through absenteeism, presenteeism, and turnover.
Group RRSPs & DPSPs
Give employees a structured, tax-advantaged path to retirement savings. Employer matching — even modest contributions — is one of the highest-perceived-value benefits you can offer.
Defined Contribution Plans
Predictable employer costs, employee ownership, and portability. We design DC plans that are simple to administer and easy for employees to understand and engage with.
Financial literacy resources
Access to tools, calculators, and educational resources that help employees make sense of their retirement savings — because a plan nobody understands is a plan nobody uses.
The connection Financial stress doesn't stay at the door when your employees come to work. It shows up as distraction, absenteeism, and burnout. A group retirement plan isn't just a perk — it's a mental health intervention.
Life & Living Benefits

Protection for
life's hardest moments

Group health coverage handles the expected. Life and living benefits protect your employees — and their families — when the unexpected happens. It's the part of a benefits plan that matters most when it matters most.

We design group life, AD&D, critical illness, and disability coverage that gives your people genuine protection — not a patchwork of minimums that looks good on a summary page.

Talk to us about life & living benefits →
Group Life Insurance
A tax-free lump sum for an employee's family in the event of death. Simple to administer, deeply valued, and one of the most affordable group benefits available.
AD&D Coverage
Accidental death and dismemberment coverage that provides financial support for employees and families affected by serious accidents — at a cost that makes it a no-brainer addition to any plan.
Critical Illness
A lump-sum benefit paid directly to the employee upon diagnosis of a covered condition — cancer, heart attack, stroke, and more. Financial breathing room when life stops being normal.
Long-Term Disability
Income replacement when an employee can't work due to illness or injury. Properly structured LTD is the safety net that keeps financial stress from becoming financial ruin.
Executive Medical Programs

Your executives drive the business.
Protect them like it.

Your key people are your highest-value asset. When an executive is waiting months for a specialist, dealing with an undiagnosed health issue, or burning out without support — the business feels it. Executive medical programs give your leadership team access to private, accelerated healthcare so they can stay focused, stay healthy, and stay with you.

Faster access to care
Skip the public waitlist. Executive medical programs provide direct access to specialists, diagnostics, and treatment — measured in days, not months. When something is wrong, your executive isn't waiting six months to find out what it is.
Prevention over intervention
Comprehensive annual health assessments, bloodwork, cardiac screening, and lifestyle coaching. Catching a problem early costs far less — in healthcare dollars and lost leadership — than managing a crisis after the fact.
Reduced absenteeism
An executive absence isn't just a personal issue — it's a business continuity issue. Private medical programs keep your leadership team healthy, in the building, and performing. The ROI on preventing one extended absence typically covers years of program cost.
A perk worth keeping people for
In a competitive talent market, executive medical is one of the most valued perks you can offer a senior hire. It signals that you take care of your people at every level — and it's the kind of benefit that makes an executive think twice before taking a call from a headhunter.
Who it's for
Not just for the C-suite
Executive medical programs can be structured for any tier of leadership — CEOs, VPs, directors, key technical staff, or anyone your business genuinely cannot afford to lose. We help you define the right eligibility criteria so the program delivers maximum value without unnecessary cost.
What's typically included
  • Comprehensive annual health assessments
  • Priority specialist referrals & appointments
  • Advanced diagnostic imaging & bloodwork
  • Cardiac & cancer screening programs
  • Mental health & executive wellness support
  • 24/7 virtual physician access
  • Travel medical & emergency assistance
Ask us about executive medical →
Introducing

The Harbour
Beacon

Your HR team has enough on their plate. Answering benefits questions, chasing carriers, and fielding the same coverage queries over and over is our job — not theirs. The Harbour Beacon is our AI-powered employee concierge that handles the routine so your HR team can get back to what they're actually there to do.

Calling your carrier's 1-800 number is always a great first step — and often all that's needed. But when it isn't enough, the Beacon catches it, triages it, and escalates directly to Blake with full context. Your team never has to be the middleman.

Takes the load off HR — employees get instant answers about coverage, claims, and providers without going to your HR team first.
Smart triage — if the carrier hasn't resolved an issue, Beacon escalates to Blake with full context so nothing falls through the cracks.
Always on — 24/7, in plain language, under your specific plan details. No hold music. No generic scripts.
The Inner Harbour

One advisor.
A whole network behind them.

The honest truth about boutique brokerages: we can't be experts in everything. Neither can the big shops — they just don't tell you that. The difference is we've built the Inner Harbour — a trusted network of professionals we call on when a question goes beyond group benefits, so you always get the right answer from the right person.

Financial Advisors
When benefits conversations touch on personal financial planning, retirement strategy, or wealth management, we connect you with trusted advisors who can take it further.
Risk Management
Group benefits is one piece of your organization's risk picture. Our risk management connections help employers think about the broader landscape — before something goes wrong.
Commercial Insurance
Your people are covered — but what about your business? We work alongside commercial brokers who can make sure your liability, property, and business coverage is just as solid.
Employment Lawyers
Benefits questions sometimes have a legal dimension — terminations, accommodation obligations, ESA minimums. We know when to bring in employment counsel, and who to call.
HR Professionals
When you need more than a benefits advisor — policy development, performance frameworks, organizational design — our HR network fills the gap without you having to find someone cold.
The network is part of the service
You don't just get a benefits advisor. You get an advisor who knows who to call — and makes the introduction.
How it works

From first call to
covered employees

A straightforward process with no unnecessary steps and no surprises.

01
Discovery call
30 minutes. We learn your headcount, current plan, budget, and what isn't working. No pitch deck. No obligation.
02
Market analysis
We run your requirements across our carrier panel and return with options that are benchmarked and explained in plain language.
03
Plan setup
Carrier paperwork, employee enrolment, and communication materials — handled so your HR team doesn't have to project-manage an implementation.
04
Ongoing partnership
Annual reviews, claims advocacy, plan adjustments, and the Harbour Beacon for your employees — not just service at renewal time.
About

Why I started
Harbour

I started Harbour because I've seen how the other side operates. At the large, PE-backed brokerages, accounts are numbers in a CRM — not clients with plans that need attention, advice, and real advocacy. When you're managing 150+ accounts, true service isn't possible. The house takes most of the compensation, leaving brokers overstretched and under-incentivized to go the extra mile for the people who are actually paying for it.

I also spent time at two of Canada's largest insurance carriers. That experience gave me something most advisors don't have — a real understanding of how carriers operate, who makes decisions, and how to get things done when it matters. I know the system from the inside, and I use that knowledge to make sure your plan is actually delivering value, your business is protected, and your employees are taken care of.

Harbour exists because employers deserve an advisor who has the time, the knowledge, and the genuine commitment to treat every client like they're the only one.

Blake Robillard — Founder, Harbour Benefits Co.
"I've worked on both sides of the table — at the carriers and at the brokerages. I started Harbour to put that experience to work building real relationships and looking out for what actually matters: benefits that help employers attract the best, and help employees live healthier lives."
Blake — Founder, Harbour Benefits Co.
FSRA Licensed — Ontario
Life & Accident & Sickness · Corporate Agency Licence
Get started

Time to find
your Harbour?

A 30-minute discovery call costs nothing. We'll tell you honestly whether there's a better option — and if there isn't, we'll tell you that too.

Book a discovery call [email protected]