I built and sold a health insurance agency. Now I help employers run their health plan like every other cost.

Here's what you get, in order. The first two cost nothing and need no signature. The rest starts with the broker-of-record letter, because that's what makes me your broker for the plan.

Then, from about 90 days out, your renewal is checked against what the Plan Report expected and the market is shopped whether it's high or in line. A business associate agreement is signed before any claims detail on individuals comes in.

A renewal letter gives you a number and a deadline. It almost never tells you why. Your Plan Report works through these checks, and each one either explains part of the cost or rules it out.

I work alongside fractional CFOs. Benefits is a big line on most clients' P&L, and almost nobody looks at it closely. You get a Plan Report you can take straight to the CEO, and your client gets a broker who services the plan all year. It starts when they sign the broker-of-record letter, with your okay.

I work behind you. You make the intro, and you own the relationship.

Here's part of a sample Plan Report for a made-up 120-employee services company in Texas. The company and its numbers are examples. The benchmarks are real and linked to their sources.

Built for 50 to 500 employees, fully insured, level funded or self funded. You can switch any time of year. Usually it's the owner, the CFO, or whoever runs HR who reaches out.

Earlier is better. Not every plan year starts January 1, and the broker-of-record transfer takes about a month. For your coming renewal, 150 days out is the latest.

I started my own health insurance agency, grew it to 60 agents in about 3 years, and then sold it. We worked with all the major carriers, and I was the one negotiating our contracts and commissions and doing the plan design. We ended up with the largest book with one of the major carriers in our area. I also built partner programs with local TPAs and physician networks. After the sale, I spent 2 years consulting on the M&A side, doing valuation and operational analysis for insurance agency roll-ups.

Now I help companies understand what their group health plan really costs and manage it, working alongside fractional CFOs. I also worked as a financial planner for more than 10 years, running full planning for business owners, including family businesses being handed to the next generation, where succession, the estate, and the business as the family's main asset all had to line up. So I look at a health plan the way an owner looks at the whole business. And I've worked as a claims and physician network liaison. I'm independent. I don't work for the insurance company. I'm licensed in 8 states and can add others through non-resident licensing when a client needs it. I'm based in the Austin area, Texas.

Is my health insurance renewal increase normal?

For context, KFF’s 2026 survey found total family premiums rose 5%, to $28,303 a year. Your number depends on your group. Your Plan Report puts your costs next to published trend and shows where to look. More in the renewal increase guide.

Do I have to change brokers?

Yes. The broker-of-record letter makes me your broker for this plan, and you can sign it any time of year. Nothing is analyzed or quoted, and none of your documents or claims are used, until the engagement letter and broker-of-record letter are signed. You get my pay in writing, in dollars and per employee, before you sign. You can revoke the broker-of-record letter at any time.

What do you need from me?

Less than you’d think. Once I’m your broker of record, the carrier sends me your plan documents, rates, invoices, enrollment, claims and renewal. You send a payroll roster (no Social Security numbers), your last payroll deduction report, the contribution split and who I work with. Start with the form.

Can we look at this without getting on a sales call?

Yes. Start with the sample Plan Report and run the Renewal Benchmark Check on your own numbers. When you’re ready, the form sends you the letters to sign online, and your Plan Report comes by email as a written report you and your team can go through whenever it suits you. If you want to talk it through, I’m glad to, and it’s always your call.

What are the health insurance requirements for employers with more than 50 employees?

If you averaged at least 50 full-time employees, counting full-time equivalents, in the prior year, the IRS treats you as an applicable large employer. That brings the employer shared responsibility rules and annual reporting. In Texas, 51 or more employees also makes you a large employer for how your plan is rated.

My renewal is due in a few weeks. Is it too late?

Not for switching. I can take over servicing any time and start right away. For this renewal, the letters are ideally signed 150 days out. Signed 90 days out or later, I can shop this renewal only if the census, claims and renewal are in hand more than 60 days before it. Otherwise it’s handled as it stands, and the full strategy starts with the next one.

What's the difference between level funded and fully insured?

Who carries the risk, what you get to see, and how your renewal is priced. Here’s the plain-English comparison.

How are you paid?

Onboarding, servicing, the Plan Report and the renewal strategy are included, paid through the plan as placement commission, not billed to you. Until your first renewal with me, the carrier pays the commission already in your contract, shown in dollars before you sign. From that renewal, a flat $40 per employee per month at standard scope. Special projects, like a self-funded structure, are priced in the engagement letter before you sign. How I’m paid.

Sometimes the answer is that your renewal is fair and the best move is to keep what you have. I'll say so, and the market check goes in your decision file.

If the findings point to a change, I lay out the options side by side, like plan design, how you split the cost, or funding type, with what each one does to company cost, employee paychecks, and coverage. If you decide to make a change, I handle implementation: enrollment, administration and employee questions, so HR isn't chasing paperwork. And next year's renewal becomes a planned review instead of a surprise.

How I'm paid for any of this is on one page: how I'm paid.