A renewal that came back in double digits.
Before you accept it, and before you move the whole plan, somebody should be able to tell you which part of that increase is your own claims, which part is trend, and which part is still negotiable. Those are three different numbers with three different answers, and a single percentage hides all of them.
Take the number apart before you react to it.
An eleven percent increase is not a fact about your plan. It is a sum, and the components behave very differently under pressure.
Is it even your claims?
Below fifty employees you are community rated — the carrier is not permitted to price your experience, so your increase is not about your claims at all. At fifty and above it is, partially at first and more heavily as the group grows. Knowing which regime you are in changes the entire conversation.
How much is trend
National medical trend is running roughly 9 to 10 percent before plan changes. Michigan small group filings were approved at 11.1 percent for 2026 with 9.6 percent filed for 2027. If your increase is near those lines, you are being handed the market. If it is well above them, something specific is being priced and it can be named.
What is still arguable
Credibility weighting, pooling charges, the treatment of a known large claimant, administrative loads and the trend factor itself. Each one is a separate argument, and carriers answer specifics rather than objections.
Two common reactions, both of them expensive.
A double-digit renewal produces pressure to do something visible. The two most available somethings are usually the wrong ones.
Cutting the plan
Raising the deductible moves cost onto employees rather than removing it from the system — which is why national trend after plan changes is so much lower than before them. Smaller employers already carry markedly higher deductibles than large ones, so there is often less room here than it appears.
Changing carriers in a hurry
A mid-stream move resets accumulators, breaks eligibility files and costs employee confidence. Sometimes it is still right. It should never be the first response to a letter.
Measuring it honestly
The same increase can read as +21 percent total premium, +9.55 percent blended PEPM, or +6.80 percent on a held census — all three arithmetically correct. If headcount changed, the total-premium figure is telling you about hiring, not about your plan.
Four documents, and we will tell you what they actually say.
The four, always
The renewal letter, your current plan summary, contribution split by tier, and enrolled counts by tier. Nothing else — every extra document is a reason to postpone.
Two more at fifty or above
Your current census, and claims experience with the last three renewals. At that size the carrier asks for them as routine, which is precisely why we do too.
What comes back
A short written read and a conversation: whether it looks competitive, where the opportunity is, and the questions we would put to your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
Send us your renewal.
We’ll tell you whether it looks competitive, where we see opportunity, and the five questions we’d put to your carrier. No cost, and no obligation to move anything.
The renewal letter
Your current plan summary
Contribution split by tier
Enrolled counts by tier
Four documents — two more if your group is 50 or more. Nothing else; every extra one is a reason to postpone.
An independent employee benefits consulting firm. We look at the entire benefits program — cost, plan performance, risk and administration.
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304
248.370.8853
719.425.2649
281.404.5670
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