Butcher & Associates Pensacola, FL
Employee benefits · Pensacola

Employee benefits broker in Pensacola.

Group medical, voluntary lines, compliance, and renewal analysis for Florida employers from 10 to 300 lives. The same four people, every renewal. Pensacola brokerage since March 2012.

What this is

What an employee benefits broker actually does.

An employee benefits broker is the licensed intermediary between a Pensacola employer and the insurance carriers that write group medical, voluntary, and ancillary coverage. The broker designs the plan against the employer's budget and workforce, runs a formal RFP across the carriers the group is eligible for, advises on funding structure (fully-insured, level-funded, or self-funded), handles open enrollment, services the plan year-round, and coordinates the compliance work (ACA reporting, COBRA, ERISA wrap, Form 5500) the employer is responsible for.

What that should look like in practice: a real RFP every renewal across the major Florida carriers, a side-by-side comparison delivered in writing, the level-funded versus fully-insured math modeled with your group's actual claim data, an in-person open-enrollment walkthrough, and a named person who picks up the phone when an HR question comes in on a Tuesday morning in February.

What it actually looks like in most of the Pensacola benefits market: an annual renewal-letter rubber-stamp, no alternative-funding analysis, a call-center 800 number for questions, and a different account manager every twelve to eighteen months.

The gap between those two pictures is what we built this firm to close.

How Butcher handles it

Same four people, every renewal.

Wil Butcher takes the renewal call himself. Day 120 out from your effective date, we pull a fresh census and claim-experience snapshot. Day 90, the carrier RFP is issued to Florida Blue, UHC, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana with identical plan-design parameters. Day 60, the side-by-side comparison deck is delivered and the working session is scheduled. Day 30, the final selection is made and enrollment kickoff begins. Every step is on the calendar, in writing.

Viviana Salas is the year-round service lead. Direct line, no ticket system, same person every time you call. The HR question on a Tuesday morning, the prior-authorization escalation, the new-hire enrollment, the dependent eligibility audit — Viviana picks up. That is the part the brief calls "be readily available," and it is the part most Pensacola brokerages systematically skip after the bind.

The wedge offer is the free renewal analysis. Bring the renewal letter and the current census and we will return a three-plan side-by-side, a 2-page plain-English benefit guide preview for the top plan, and an optional 30-minute explanation call — in 48 hours, free, no obligation to switch.

Common questions about employee benefits in Pensacola

Pensacola employee benefits questions we get.

How does a Pensacola employee benefits broker actually get paid?
In most fully-insured and level-funded group medical placements the carrier pays the broker a per-employee-per-month commission built into the premium — typically $20 to $40 PEPM for medical, with lower rates for ancillary lines. The Pensacola employer does not write a separate check. On fee-based engagements, the employer pays a flat monthly or project fee and the commission is stripped from the premium. Both structures are legal and disclosed in writing.
Is it cheaper to skip the broker and go to the carrier directly?
No. Group health premiums are not discounted when a Pensacola employer skips 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.
Will you actually shop the market or just push one carrier?
We shop. We are independent and appointed with the major Florida group medical carriers including Florida Blue, United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, and Humana, plus level-funded specialists and stop-loss markets. Every renewal cycle we run a formal RFP and present side-by-side comparisons with five weighted scoring criteria. The carrier list is what we actually write, not a marketing wall.
When should our Pensacola company start the benefits 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 communications, and open enrollment. Pensacola groups that wait until 30 to 45 days out almost always default to the incumbent renewal because there is not time to credibly shop the market.

Ready to get started?

Free renewal analysis, returned in 48 hours, no obligation. The 45-minute working session is free whether you eventually move your broker of record to us or not.

Get a free renewal analysis Or call (850) 972-8773

Related Pensacola services: group health insurance broker Pensacola · renewal analysis Pensacola · all services