Dependents

Dependents of an insured (employee or retiree) may benefit from insurance coverage when they are recognized by MÉDIC Construction. To have them recognized, insureds must declare their dependents and provide the required supporting documents.

IMPORTANT: Insureds must also inform the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) of any change in status of their dependents such as when their child aged 18 or over ceases studying full time or when the spouse and the insured stop living together. 

If the insureds fail to update their file, they will have to repay any amounts paid by the insurance plan for expenses incurred for a person who is no longer their dependents. They may modify their file for this purpose in MÉDIC online, at sel.ccq.org, or send the required form by mail with the documentation required.

The dependents of an employee or retiree are:

The spouse

• Dependent children
• Spouse’s children who are dependents of the employee
• An insured who disagrees with a decision by the CCQ regarding recognition of a dependent may contest it. To do this, the insured must contact Customer Services, which will send him or her appropriate form.

Spouse

For the purposes of the insurance plans, a spouse is a person of the opposite or same sex who meets one of the following conditions:

• Is married to or in a civil union with the insured
  
  OR
• Has been living in a conjugal relationship with the insured for at least 12 months
  
  OR
• Is living in a conjugal relationship with the insured and one of the following situations occurs:
  • At least one child is born of their union
  • They have jointly adopted at least one child while living together in a conjugal relationship 
  • One of them has adopted at least one child who is the child of the other while living together in a conjugal relationship
  • They have, in the past, lived together in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 consecutive months

If the insured and the spouse are living together, with or without children, the acceptable documentation must fulfil the following three conditions:

1. The document must contain the date of issuance, the last and first names of the spouse, and his or her civic address.
2. The spouse’s address must correspond to the insured’s address in the CCQ’s register on the date of the document If the insured’s address in the CCQ’s register does not correspond to the spouse’s, the insured must also provide two proofs of residence, addressed to him or her, on the same dates as those provided by his or her spouse to prove that they are living together.
3. The document must come from an official organization or a recognized company:
   
   Utilities bill (phone, cell phone, cable, natural gas, etc.), tax statement, statement from a governmental agency, bank statement, history of previous addresses available free of charge at a Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) counter.
   
   Documents rejected: Leases, tax returns, invoices for purchases or deliveries, marriage contracts, and wills, as well as all documents filled out by hand are not accepted.

A person is no longer the spouse of the insured when, following the failure of their union, the spouse has ceased living with and has not been living with the insured person for over 90 days or, if applicable, since the date on which another person became the spouse of the insured person. However, for the purposes of life insurance coverage, a person who ceases to live with the insured following the failure of their union is no longer the spouse of this insured.

In order to comply with the Québec Supplemental Pension Plans Act, the definition of a spouse set out in the retirement plan differs from the definition given above for insurance purposes.

Dependent child

A dependent child is defined as a spouseless child of the insured or of the insured’s spouse, most of whose support is provided by the insured, and who:

• Is under 18 years of age
  
  OR
• Is aged under 26 years of age and is a full-time student at an educational institution recognized by the ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur (MEES)
  
  OR
• Became disabled while he or she fulfilled one of the two above conditions and has remained continually disabled since.

A child over whom the insured exercises parental authority is considered the insured’s child.

To declare a child who became disabled while he or she met one of the two above conditions, the employee must contact the CCQ to find out which proofs will be required. 

A child for whom the insured is designated the legal guardian may be eligible until age 18. However, the insured must provide the CCQ with a photocopy of official documents attesting that he or she is the child’s legal guardian, such as a court decision or a letter from the directeur de la protection de la jeunesse.

It is no longer required to present a photocopy of a birth certificate to register a dependent child. However, the insured must keep this document, as MÉDIC Construction may request it during a random verification.

A child who reaches the age of 18 years between January 1 and August 31 remains a dependent child until August 31. A child who reaches the age of 18 between September 1 and December 31 remains a dependent child until January 31 of the following year.

When a dependent child reaches age 18, a certificate of school attendance may be required. 

Note: Even if a child is recognized as a dependent, some treatments may not be covered. For example, dental care is reimbursable only for dependent children under 21 years of age.