A concierge advisory model. Built in 2012. Still running the same way.
Butcher & Associates is a Group benefits advisory firm. Every client is assigned a dedicated senior advisor and a dedicated service lead from the first meeting — and those two people stay on your account through every renewal, every claim escalation, every question in between. No call-center rotation. No handoffs to a different team at renewal time. Every recommendation in writing before you commit to anything.
Why we started, and why the model has not changed.
The founders spent years inside larger benefits operations — carrier-side and brokerage-side. The pattern everywhere was the same: employers got handed off, service tickets bounced between three queues, and the producer who pitched the plan was rarely the person you talked to when the plan needed a real decision.
Butcher & Associates opened in March 2012 with a different rule: the advisor who wins the account is the advisor who handles the renewal every year. The service lead who picks up at enrollment is the service lead who picks up in May. No call-center desk, no offshore queue, no annual rotation. The same named people on your account from day one.
That model only works at a certain size. Scale past it, and you start to need queues, regional teams, and “account managers assigned to your area.” We have made a deliberate choice not to go there. The concierge model is the product.
One advisor. One service lead. Assigned from day one.
Your senior advisor
A named senior advisor opens every renewal call, runs the carrier RFP, and delivers the recommendation in writing before you commit to anything. Florida 2-15 licensed. Appointed with major Florida carriers and select level-funded and stop-loss markets. The same advisor from the first meeting through every renewal.
Your dedicated service lead
A dedicated service lead handles day-to-day account work — enrollment windows, claim escalations, employee questions, ACA reporting prep, COBRA admin coordination, plan-document updates. Your HR team has one direct number. The same person answers it every time.
The standard we hold
Calls returned the same business day. Every recommendation delivered in writing before you sign anything. If we have a conflict of interest on a specific placement, we name it and explain why we recommended what we recommended. No surprises at renewal, no surprises on the invoice.
How we actually get paid.
The simple version
For most fully-insured and level-funded group medical placements, the carrier pays us a per-employee-per-month commission that is already built into the premium you pay. Typical PEPM in this market runs $20 to $40 for medical, with lower rates for ancillary lines like dental, vision, life, and disability. You do not write us a separate check; the cost is embedded in the carrier rate.
Fee-based engagements
For mid-market groups that prefer a fee-based engagement, we strip the commission out of the premium and bill a flat monthly or project fee directly. This is more common with self-funded plans and with employers who want full transparency on every dollar.
Why we put this on the page
Because every commercial buyer knows the broker is being paid somehow. Naming the mechanic on the website disarms the objection. There is no hidden number. If a specific placement raises a conflict-of-interest concern, we will tell you which option carries the higher commission and why we recommended the one we recommended.
A short timeline.
Butcher & Associates opens in Pensacola, FL. Small-group medical placement, fully-insured, with a dedicated-advisor model from day one.
Voluntary benefits formalized — dental, vision, life, short-term and long-term disability.
ACA reporting and 1094 / 1095 preparation added in-house. COBRA admin coordination formalized.
Level-funded modeling added for groups 25 lives and up. Stop-loss carrier appointments added.
Same model. Same accounts. Same commitment. Renewing them now.
Your employees get the benefit they think they're getting.
The placement is only half the work. The other half is making sure the people actually using the plan understand it. Plain-English benefit guide, in-person enrollment walkthrough, year-round advisor access, sample enrollment timeline shared upfront. See how the education layer works.
If a concierge advisory relationship sounds like a better fit than what you have now, let’s talk.
Forty-five minutes. The carrier renewal letter on the table. Real math.