Fully-insured, level-funded, and self-funded
Carrier RFP across the markets we are appointed with. Side-by-side comparison with five-criterion scoring. Plan structure modeled against your real claim experience, not theirs.
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Pensacola group benefits brokerage
The same four people, every renewal.
Butcher & Associates is a Pensacola group benefits brokerage. Wil, Viviana, Holly, and the team have been placing group medical, voluntary benefits, and compliance work for Florida employers since 2012. Calls answered the same business day. Renewal analysis returned in 48 hours.
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Or call (850) 972-8773 — direct, no menu
Same producer, same service lead — on every account, every year
Florida 2-15 licensed — statewide, all carriers we are appointed with
48-hour turnaround — on every renewal analysis
What we do
Group medical, voluntary benefits, and the math behind both.
We place and service group benefits plans for Florida employers from 10 to roughly 300 lives. The work is unglamorous: review the claim history, model the renewal, run the carrier RFP, present the trade-offs in writing, handle the paperwork. Same producer, same service lead, every year.
What changes year to year is the math — your group's claim run-rate, the carrier-trend climate, whether a level-funded or ICHRA structure pencils for your census. Our job is to tell you the answer before the renewal letter forces one on you.
Dental, vision, life, disability, accident
Ancillary lines that actually get used. Enrollment platforms (Employee Navigator, Ease) so open enrollment runs on rails. Employer-paid, voluntary, or mixed funding modeled before recommending.
See voluntary benefits →ACA reporting, COBRA, ERISA wrap docs
1094 and 1095 preparation and filing. COBRA admin coordination with a third-party administrator. ERISA wrap document handling and Form 5500 coordination for plans that need it.
See compliance work →
The part most brokers skip
Your employees get the benefit they think they're getting.
Half the work of a renewal is the placement. The other half is making sure the people actually using the plan understand it. A great plan that nobody understands is a bad plan in practice.
Plain-English benefit guide
One-page summary for every plan we place. Deductible, out-of-pocket max, copays, Rx tiers — written the way you would explain them to a friend.
In-person enrollment walkthrough
Wil or Viviana on site for open enrollment. Group meeting, then one-on-ones with anyone who has a specific question. Same week the carrier locks the rates.
Year-round access to Viviana
HR question on a Tuesday morning? Employee confused about a claim? Viviana picks up. Direct line, no ticket system. Same person, all year.
Sample enrollment-week timeline
A 50-person group's open enrollment is typically a 10-day window: Mon group meeting, Tue–Thu one-on-ones, Fri paperwork, following week ID cards. We share the timeline upfront.
How a renewal analysis works
Four steps from the renewal letter to a signed plan.
The same process we have run for Florida employers since 2012. Written down.
STEP 01
Census and claim review
We collect your current census, the renewal letter, and at least 12 months of claim history. We review for cost drivers and outliers before we touch a carrier.
STEP 02
Carrier RFP
Formal RFP across the carriers you are eligible for. Five criteria, weighted: deductible, out-of-pocket max, Rx coverage, total cost, copays.
STEP 03
Plan modeling
Where it makes sense, we model alternative funding — level-funded against fully-insured, ICHRA against group, HSA-pairing for high-deductible options. Numbers on paper, not in your head.
STEP 04
Written recommendation
A one-page recommendation with the trade-offs spelled out. We present in person or on video. You decide; we handle the carrier paperwork.
The team
Four people. The same four, every renewal.
No call-center rotation, no offshore service desk, no "account manager assigned to your region." Wil, Viviana, Holly, and the team are the people who answer the phone, model the renewal, and walk through it with you.
Wil Butcher
Senior Producer · Co-founder
Wil opens the renewal call. He has placed group medical, voluntary, and ancillary plans for Florida employers since founding Butcher & Associates in March 2012.
Viviana Salas
Service Lead
Viviana runs the day-to-day on every account. Enrollment, claim escalations, employee questions, ACA reporting prep. If your HR team has a Tuesday-morning question, they call Viviana.
Holly Butcher
Partner — role TBD
Bio coming soon — Holly co-founded Butcher & Associates with Wil in 2012. Will be replaced before launch.
Fourth team member
Role TBD
Bio coming soon — will be replaced before launch.
We have been with Butcher for years. They always pick up the phone, they always have an answer, and they have saved us real money on the medical line two renewals running.
— Florida employer client (attribution pending) · Reused unattributed quote from current site · NEED_FROM_CLIENT: testimonial_1
If your renewal just landed
Got a double-digit renewal letter? Don't sign it yet.
Medical renewal trend has run 8 to 12 percent annually in the Southeast small-group market in recent years. Your specific renewal depends on your group's actual claim run-rate, not the carrier-trend headline. We run the carrier RFP, model the alternative funding, and tell you the real number in writing — free, for Florida employers, 90 days before your effective date.
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Common questions
The questions most Florida employers ask first.
How does a group health broker get paid?
In most fully-insured and level-funded placements, the carrier pays the broker a per-employee-per-month (PEPM) commission built into the premium — typically $20 to $40 PEPM for medical, with lower rates for ancillary lines. The employer does not write a separate check. On fee-based engagements, the employer pays the broker a flat monthly or project fee and the commission is stripped from the premium. Both structures are legal and disclosed in writing.
When should we start the renewal process?
We start renewal work 90 to 120 days before your plan's effective date. That gives time for the carrier RFP, claim-experience review, alternative-funding modeling, employee comms, and open enrollment. Groups that wait until 30 to 45 days out almost always default to the incumbent's renewal because there is not time to credibly shop the market.
Will you actually shop the market or push one carrier?
We run a formal RFP across the carriers you are eligible for and present side-by-side comparisons. The recommendation is in writing with the trade-offs spelled out. You decide; we handle the carrier paperwork.
How fast do you actually answer the phone?
Same business day, as a rule. If you call before 4pm Central on a weekday, you talk to Wil or Viviana that day. Outside hours: leave a message; we return calls within one business day.
Ready when you are
One conversation tells you whether we are the right fit.
A renewal analysis takes about 45 minutes. We open the carrier renewal letter, walk through every cost line, model two alternative structures, and email you the written summary. No proposal, no follow-up sales call unless you ask for one.