Great-West Life has launched a new online platform that will enable small businesses and/or insurance advisors to easily design and purchase group benefits insurance.

The new Flexbox platform is Great-West Life’s first direct offering to employers, a release said, although it can also be offered through advisors. It is a platform “where small business employers can learn about group benefits at their convenience, design and get pricing for an entry-level plan tailored to their budget,” the company said in a release.

Flexbox is offered to businesses with between two and 20 employees that did not have a group benefits plan in the last two years.

Group benefits insurance purchases on Flexbox can be made on-the-spot by employers, or through an advisor, the release explained. To make the process even easier for employers, technical support during the application process is available.

In addition to serving as a one-stop resource for all things group benefits, Flexbox allows access to Great-West Life’s GroupNet for plan members and administrators.

“Small businesses are the largest private employer group in Canada, yet many do not offer employee health benefits, whether due to cost, lack of flexibility in plan design or difficulty researching provider options,” Great-West Life senior vice-president of plan sponsor services Roger Maguet told The Insurance & Investment Journal.

“Not only can that make it more difficult for these small business employers to attract and retain employees, but it can leave a large segment of Canadians vulnerable to routine and unexpected health costs. With Flexbox, we’re looking to change that by helping small business employers provide their employees with additional financial security and support at a time when they need it most.”

At present, the platform is available in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but Great-West Life stated that a national expansion is expected in the future.