Group Benefits Cost Calculator for Ontario Employers
Enter your headcount, who covers a spouse or family, and how rich a plan you want. You get a monthly planning range built from what AEC Benefits actually quoted small Ontario groups, not a market average.
Direct answer
Ontario group benefits run about $148 to $279 per employee per month for single coverage and $300 to $600 for family coverage, before Ontario's 8% retail sales tax (RST), for a new group with no past claims experience. A mixed team usually lands about $250 to $400 per employee. AEC Benefits, a Burlington group benefits brokerage, built this calculator from its own quotes for small Ontario groups and turns the range into a real quote at aecbenefits.ca/get-quote or (905) 320-4123. Based on AEC Benefits' own quotes for small Ontario groups from 2023 to 2026. A planning range, not a quote.
AEC works with Ontario employers of 5 to 100. Below five, the economics get difficult.
That leaves 5 on single coverage.
Solid drug, dental and paramedical coverage with sensible maximums. Where most small Ontario groups land.
Monthly planning range for a new group, before 8% RST
New group, no past claims experience assumed
$2,310 to $3,430
About $230 to $345 per employee per month across your mix. $27,720 to $41,160 a year.
Insured group premiums in Ontario carry the 8% provincial retail sales tax (RST), not the 13% HST. The HST applies to ASO administration fees.
What the plan should look like for this crew
A field crew uses massage, physio and mental-health coverage more than dental and glasses. Two classes, field and office, usually fit better than one average. Long-term disability deserves the most attention: one injured foreman costs more than the whole premium.
The trade does not move the price. In AEC's quote data, contractors, HVAC shops and office groups priced within a few dollars of each other for the same coverage.
A planning range, not a quote. Based on AEC Benefits' own quotes for small Ontario groups from 2023 to 2026. Priced as a new group with no past claims experience. A group that is already on a plan is rated on its own claims history at renewal, which can move the real rate up or down. Health and dental sit at the centre of the range; life, AD&D and long-term disability add about $20 to $60 per person. Age mix, the insurer and the exact design also move the real quote, sometimes outside this range.
Want a copy of this estimate?
I'll email you these numbers line by line, so you can share them with a partner or your bookkeeper. Same planning range you see here, not a quote.
AEC planning range by headcount
| Employees | All single coverage, per month | Mixed team, per month | All family coverage, per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 employees | $740 to $1,395 | $1,250 to $2,000 | $1,500 to $3,000 |
| 10 employees | $1,480 to $2,790 | $2,500 to $4,000 | $3,000 to $6,000 |
| 20 employees | $2,960 to $5,580 | $5,000 to $8,000 | $6,000 to $12,000 |
| 50 employees | $7,400 to $13,950 | $12,500 to $20,000 | $15,000 to $30,000 |
How the range is built
Every number on this page is an aggregate from AEC Benefits' own quote files for small Ontario groups, 2023 to 2026. Health and dental are the centre of the plan and are priced by coverage status: single about $145 a month (typical spread $125 to $165), employee plus spouse about $285 ($255 to $385), family about $370 ($325 to $410), all before the 8% retail sales tax (RST).
Life, accidental death and long-term disability add about $20 to $60 per person, depending on salary and age. A Platinum-style design prices about 25% above Gold-style for the same team, and the dearest insurer came in about a quarter above the cheapest on the same census, which is why AEC shops every plan with multiple insurers.
Put together, one employee on single coverage plans at about $145 to $225 a month on a Gold-style design and $176 to $266 on Platinum-style. Family coverage plans at about $345 to $470 and $426 to $573. The published site-wide range of $148 to $279 single and $300 to $600 family wraps those figures.
What the calculator does not know: your employees' ages, the claims history of an existing plan, the insurer's appetite for your trade this year, and the exact drug, dental and disability design. Those are what a real quote prices, and they can put the number outside this range in either direction.
Related Pages
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a quote?
No. It is a planning range built from AEC Benefits' own quotes for small Ontario groups from 2023 to 2026. It assumes a new group with no past claims experience. A real quote needs a census (ages, coverage status, province) and a plan specification, and it can land outside this range.
What is in the range?
Health and dental for each person, priced by coverage status: single about $145, employee plus spouse about $285, family about $370 per month before Ontario's 8% retail sales tax (RST). Life, accidental death and long-term disability add about $20 to $60 per person. A Platinum-style design runs about 25% above Gold-style on the same team.
Why does family coverage cost so much more than single?
Because the plan is paying for more people. In AEC's quote data, family coverage runs about 2.6 times single and employee-plus-spouse about 1.9 times. That is why the split between single, couple and family coverage moves the budget more than anything else on this page.
Why does the industry question not change the price?
Because it did not change the price in the quotes. Contractors, HVAC shops and office groups priced within a few dollars of each other for the same coverage. What the trade changes is the design: how much disability coverage matters, whether the crew needs two classes, and how seasonal layoffs are handled. The calculator uses the industry to suggest that, not to move the number.
Does this include Ontario sales tax?
The headline range is before tax. Ontario charges 8% retail sales tax (RST) on group insurance premiums, not the 13% HST, and the calculator shows the with-tax monthly figure underneath. Employer-paid health and dental premiums are not a taxable benefit to the employee; employer-paid life, AD&D and critical illness premiums are.
What should I do after I see my range?
Use it to set a budget, then ask for the real quote. AEC Benefits shops the plan with multiple insurers and comes back within 24 to 48 hours with a number built on your actual team.
Reviewed by Steffen deGraaf
Steffen brings 20+ years in insurance and group benefits, construction job-site roots, and architectural technology training at Mohawk College. FSRA-regulated insurance broker specializing in Ontario group benefits.
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Ontario construction benefits experience
Construction is in Steffen's blood: job sites as a teenager, architectural technology at Mohawk College, and 20+ years in insurance and group benefits for Ontario employers.
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Want the real quote behind the range?
The quote form starts fresh, so have your headcount and your single, spouse and family split handy. AEC Benefits shops it with multiple insurers and comes back with a number built on your team, usually within 24 to 48 hours.