Questions Florida employers actually ask.

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.

No. Group health premiums are not discounted when you skip the broker. The carrier keeps the commission line in the premium either way. Going direct means you pay the same rate and lose the multi-carrier comparison, the renewal advocacy, the COBRA and ACA help, and a service team. Some carriers will not even quote a group without a licensed broker of record on file.

Fully-insured: the employer pays a fixed premium and the carrier owns 100 percent of the claim risk. Level-funded: the employer pays a fixed monthly amount that funds claims plus admin plus stop-loss, and gets a surplus refund if claims run under projection. Self-funded: the employer pays claims as incurred plus admin and stop-loss, and keeps the entire surplus when claims run light. Risk transfer decreases left to right.

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.

PPO: see any in-network provider, no referrals, out-of-network coverage at higher cost. HMO: in-network only, primary-care referrals required for specialists, no out-of-network coverage except emergency. EPO: in-network only, no referrals required, no out-of-network coverage. POS: HMO-style with optional out-of-network at higher cost. PPOs cost the most and give the most flexibility; HMOs cost the least and restrict the most.

We coordinate COBRA but we do not typically act as the COBRA administrator ourselves. Most groups outsource COBRA admin to a third-party administrator (TPA) such as WageWorks, P&A Group, or Tasc; fees run $1.50 to $3 per qualified beneficiary per month. We help select the COBRA admin, set up the integration with your payroll, and step in when something escalates.

HSA: employee-owned, triple-tax-advantaged, requires a qualifying high-deductible health plan, money rolls over forever, portable when the employee leaves. HRA: employer-funded only, reimburses qualified medical expenses, employer sets the rollover and forfeiture rules. FSA: employee pre-tax payroll deduction, use-it-or-lose-it with limited carryover, employer-administered.

An Individual Coverage HRA lets an employer reimburse employees for individual-market insurance premiums rather than offering a group plan. It can work well for groups with high turnover, multi-state remote workforces, or groups too small to get competitive group rates. It does not work well if you have strong group-rate options or if your employees want a richer plan than the individual market offers. We model both before recommending.

Yes. Wil Butcher and Viviana Salas both carry an active Florida 2-15 Life, Health, and Annuity license. We serve Florida employers statewide. For groups with employees in multiple states, we handle the multi-state license routing and the carrier filings without you having to track which producer is licensed where.

Medical renewal trend has run 8 to 12 percent annually in the Southeast small-group market in recent years, with mid-market self-funded plans often coming in 4 to 7 percent depending on claim experience. Individual renewals can range from 0 to 25 percent or more depending on claim history, demographics, and benefit changes. Carrier trend is not a guarantee; your specific renewal depends on your group's actual claim run-rate.

We run a formal RFP across the carriers your group is 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.

We build the open-enrollment calendar 60 days out, set the comms plan (email, in-person meetings, recorded videos), build the enrollment guide, and run the actual enrollment — typically a mix of group meetings, one-on-ones, and self-service portal enrollment. Most employer groups complete enrollment in a two to three week window. We handle the carrier paperwork, ID-card timing, and dependent eligibility verification.

Often yes, especially dental and vision (high employee perceived value, low employer cost), and short-term disability for groups with younger workers. Voluntary life and accident are easier sells than employers expect. The administrative load is real but enrollment tech (Employee Navigator, Ease, bswift) handles most of it. We model the employee-cost / employer-cost trade-offs before recommending.

Applicable Large Employers (50+ FTEs) must file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C with the IRS annually, and distribute 1095-C to each employee. Smaller groups with self-funded coverage file 1094-B and 1095-B. We can prepare and file these on your behalf, or coordinate with your payroll provider if they handle ACA reporting (ADP, Paychex, Gusto, Paylocity all offer the service for an additional fee).

Common triggers: your current broker only calls you at renewal, you have never seen a level-funded or self-funded analysis even though your group is the right size, your service requests take more than 48 hours to resolve, your carrier list has not been shopped in three or more years, or your renewal is presented as a single carrier number with no alternatives. Switching is a written broker-of-record letter — usually 30 days, no penalty.