Health coverage for 1099 agents, without sending them to the individual market.
Real estate brokerages have always had an awkward answer when an agent asks about health insurance. Agents are independent contractors, the brokerage’s group plan was built for employees, and the individual market was the only door left. There is now a group option built for exactly this: a private PPO plan that enrolls a brokerage’s licensed 1099 agents and its W-2 staff together, as one group.
We place it, price it agent by agent against what each person would pay on the individual market, and run the enrollment so the brokerage is not doing it by email.
The individual market got more expensive twice in two years.
Most agents buy their own coverage, and what they pay for it has moved faster than anything else in benefits.
The Subsidies Ended
The enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025. The average monthly premium Marketplace enrollees paid after credits rose 58%, from $113 to $178, and the average deductible rose 37% to $3,786. Rising individual market costs make group options more attractive.
The Cliff Came Back
Above 400% of the federal poverty level there is no premium tax credit at all any more. A productive agent is exactly the person most likely to be over that line and paying the full price. The subsidy cliff makes group coverage more valuable for higher earners.
2027 Is Filed Higher
Michigan’s individual-market carriers requested an average increase of 14.2% for 2027. Those are requests, not approved rates, but the direction is not in doubt. Rising individual rates strengthen the case for group coverage. Requested rates are not approved rates, but the direction is clear.
One group plan, two kinds of worker.
The plan is major medical coverage on a national PPO network, underwritten for small groups and administered with its own member service team.
| Question | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Who Can Enroll | The brokerage’s licensed 1099 agents and its W-2 staff, enrolled together and treated as one group. |
| Network | A national carrier’s PPO network. Members can see any doctor, in or out of network, and see a specialist without a referral. |
| Plan Choices | Eight deductible options, two of them HSA-compatible, with dental and vision available alongside. Telemedicine carries a $0 copay on every plan. |
| Where It Works | Nationally, so an agent who lives or sells across a state line is not a problem. |
| Quoting | Groups of two to nine complete short health questionnaires. Groups of ten or more send a dependent-level census. Quotes hold for 60 and 90 days respectively. |
| Enrollment | An implementation call, the paperwork, then portal access for every member. Once the paperwork is complete, coverage is often in place within days. |
Covering contractors is a classification question first.
None of this should make an agent look more like an employee than they already do. Three things to settle before the first enrollment.
Agents Have a Safe Harbor
Federal tax law treats a licensed real estate agent as a statutory nonemployee when substantially all of their pay is tied to sales rather than hours, and a written contract says they will not be treated as an employee for federal tax purposes. Check that your independent contractor agreements actually say that.
Benefits Are One Factor
For contractors outside real estate, offering benefits is one of the relationship factors the IRS weighs in deciding who is really an employee. Keep enrollment voluntary and agent-elected, and have counsel review the arrangement before it launches — we can bring counsel in through the firm.
Your W-2 Staff Still Count
Agents who qualify as statutory nonemployees are not counted toward the ACA employer mandate. Your W-2 staff are, and a brokerage with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees still owes them an affordable offer. W-2 staff still count toward the ACA employer mandate.
We run the comparison agent by agent, because the group plan will not win for everyone.
Individual-market prices depend on age, ZIP code and income-based tax credits. An agent who still qualifies for a large credit may do better staying where they are, and we will say so.
For every agent and staff member we put the individual-market premium, net of any tax credit they would actually receive, next to the group rate at the deductible they would pick. The brokerage sees who saves, who does not, and what participation looks like before anyone is asked to enroll. Then we run the enrollment itself and stay on as the people agents call when a claim goes sideways.
Brokerages with W-2 staff who have never offered benefits before should read what offering benefits for the first time involves, and smaller offices will find the mechanics on benefits for 2 to 50 employees.
What brokers and their agents ask first.
Ten answers, written for the person who has to explain this at the Monday sales meeting.
Can 1099 independent contractors be on a group health plan?
A conventional small-group plan from a carrier generally covers employees and owners only. This program is built differently: it enrolls a brokerage’s licensed 1099 agents and its W-2 staff together as one group. This structure lets brokerages cover agents and staff together.
Is this only for real estate brokerages?
It is built around real estate, where agents are independent contractors by design and the tax law gives them a clear status. Other businesses with contractor-heavy workforces can ask, and we will tell you plainly whether it fits. Fit depends on how the workforce is classified.
Does offering coverage make our agents employees?
Not by itself for a licensed agent paid substantially by commission under a written contract that says they are not an employee for federal tax purposes. For other contractors, benefits are one factor among many, and counsel should review the arrangement first.
What does it cost compared with the individual market?
It depends on each person’s age, ZIP code and whether they still receive a premium tax credit. We price both side by side for every agent, so the brokerage knows who saves before anyone enrolls. Side-by-side pricing shows each agent’s real savings.
Why is individual coverage so expensive right now?
The enhanced premium tax credits expired at the end of 2025, which raised what enrollees pay and brought back the income cliff above which there is no credit at all. Michigan carriers have also requested an average 14.2% increase for 2027.
Can agents keep their own doctors?
The plan uses a national PPO network, and members can see any doctor in or out of network, with no referral needed to see a specialist. Broad network access keeps agents with their doctors. No referral is needed to see a specialist in or out of network.
Is there a plan that works with an HSA?
Yes. Two of the eight deductible options are HSA-compatible, which suits agents who already fund their own health savings account. HSA-compatible options suit self-directed agents who already save for their own health care costs. Two of the eight deductible options qualify for an HSA.
Is dental and vision available?
Yes, alongside the medical plan, so agents do not have to assemble coverage from three different places. Bundled dental and vision coverage simplifies benefits for agents who would otherwise buy three separate plans. Agents do not have to assemble coverage from three different places.
What do you need from us to get a quote?
For two to nine people, a short health questionnaire from each. For ten or more, a dependent-level census: each person’s date of birth, ZIP code and who they want to cover. The right quote data speeds up a group quote.
How quickly can coverage start?
Quotes hold for 60 or 90 days depending on group size. After the group decides, an implementation call and the paperwork come first, and members are often set up within days of it being complete. Quotes hold long enough for a careful decision.
Want to see the numbers for your office? Send us a list of your agents and staff, or talk it through with someone first. No cost, no obligation.
Figures read at the source in September 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice; worker-classification questions belong with counsel, and we will bring them in.
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.
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