Small enough to be handled quickly. That’s the problem.
Under 50 employees, benefits usually land on someone who already has another job. The office manager, the controller, the owner.
The renewal arrives in a PDF, the increase is what it is, and nobody walks you through what drove it or what the alternatives were. That is not so much a service failure by your broker as a business model — small groups are priced to be handled quickly. We handle them the same way we handle a 400-life employer: with a dedicated team of five, drawn from a firm of 28.
Small does not mean exempt.
What is actually true
- You are in ACA small-group rating, so your own claims do not set your rate — but plan design and contribution strategy still move your cost meaningfully.
- The employer mandate does not apply below 50 full-time equivalents. Plenty of employers this size do not know that, and buy as if it does.
- ERISA, SBCs and COBRA (at 20 or more employees) still apply.
- As you approach 50, level-funded plans become worth modelling — usually a year before anyone suggests it.
What CFH does about it
- Model your renewal against the market instead of accepting it — every year, not just when it looks ugly.
- Run the level-funded comparison as you approach 50, so the option is on the table before the mandate is.
- Set up benefits administration so enrolment stops being a paper exercise.
- Handle the carrier calls, the billing mismatches and the claims problems, so they do not land on the person who already has another job.
What employers your size ask us.
We only have 14 people. Is that too small for a benefits consultant?
No. Group size decides which plans you can buy; it does not decide how well you are advised. Our smallest clients get the same five-person team as our largest.
Do we have to offer coverage at all?
Not below 50 full-time equivalents. Most employers this size offer it to hire and keep people, not because they are required to.
What does it cost to work with you?
In most cases nothing beyond the broker commission already built into your premium. We will tell you exactly how we are paid before you decide anything.
Send us your renewal.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and what questions we’d be asking your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
