How is the middle market different from small group?
Rating and funding rules change as a group grows. A middle-market employer usually has more ways to fund the plan and its own claims experience can matter more to the renewal. Those rules vary by state and by carrier, so we check them for your group rather than assume.
Rating and funding change as a group grows
Rating and funding rules change as a group grows. A middle-market employer usually has more ways to fund the plan, and its own claims experience can matter more to the renewal than the market averages that drive small group rates.
Those rules vary by state and by carrier, so we check them for your group rather than assume. Michigan’s approved small group averages are one reference point, and they are not your renewal.
Why the rules change as a group grows
Small group plans are rated on a limited set of factors, so a group’s own claims have little effect on its rate. As a group grows, its experience counts for more, and funding options such as level-funded and self-funded plans become realistic.
That is why advice for a middle-market employer differs from advice for a small business. The same plan can be priced differently, and the same increase can mean different things. We read your renewal with the right rating basis in mind.
Where to go from here
Read your renewal against the average
Separate trend from your own claims experience.
Consider level-funded and self-funded options
When a different funding arrangement is worth testing.
Send us your renewal
Share the renewal and plan documents and we will tell you what to test.
More questions on this topic
What counts as a middle-market employer?
There is no single definition.
What do you need to review a middle-market renewal?
Your renewal or rate action, current plan summaries and a census.
Do you work with employers outside Michigan?
Michigan is our home market, and our licensing follows clients beyond it.
Where these details come from.
This guide cites the federal statutes and regulations behind its compliance points. Rules vary by state and carrier, so we check them for your group.
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.