Second opinion
A second opinion on your health plan renewal
A renewal letter gives you a number and a deadline. It does not tell you why the number moved. A second opinion separates the market from your own group before you accept the renewal.
For CFOs at employers with 50 to 500 employees.
Why the letter stops at a number
The carrier’s letter states the new price and the date it takes effect. It does not have to show which part came from the market, which part came from who is on the plan, and which part came from a quiet change in deductibles, copays, or drug tiers. You are left to accept it, cut benefits, or guess.
Start with the check you can run today
Before any engagement, run the Renewal Benchmark Check. It compares your state, headcount, and renewal increase with published KFF, AHRQ MEPS-IC, and Peterson-KFF figures. It runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent unless you choose to reach out.
KFF’s 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey found average premiums for single and family coverage each rose 5% from 2025 to 2026. That is context for a national year, not a target for your group. The deeper page on what a normal increase looks like is health insurance renewal increase.
What gets checked once you are engaged
Plan design, census, and network
Plan design shifts are deductible, copay, and drug-tier changes that can land without a headline. Census and enrollment mix covers age, family tiers, and who joined or left. Network fit asks whether the doctors your people use are still in the plan.
Funding type and claims
Fully insured, level-funded, and self-funded renew in different ways. Self-funded is a standard option shopped every renewal alongside the other two. Running a self-funded structure once it is in place is a special project priced in the engagement letter before that letter is signed. The comparison is on level funded vs fully insured. Where claims exist, the Texas claims report is the document that shows them.
Broker compensation
Pay is carrier commission, often set in the rates the carrier files with the state. Every dollar paid on the contract is disclosed in writing, in dollars and per employee, before the plan goes through, for the current plan and every option quoted. Read how I'm paid and how to read Schedule A broker pay.
What you keep
Once the engagement letter and the broker-of-record letter are signed, and the transfer finishes in about a month, you get the Plan Report. It is written from the carrier’s own data. At renewal you keep the market quotes and the decision file, even when keeping the current plan turns out to be the right call.
The work is the same seven steps for employers with 50 to 500 employees. For employers with 100 or more employees, steps 2 to 7 are the Renewal Control Plan. Employers with 50 to 99 employees get the same seven steps without that name. The size guide is group health insurance for 50 to 500 employees.
When to start
150 days before renewal is the latest start for the full cycle. The working calendar is the 120, 90, 60, and 45 day renewal calendar. Texas notice rules are on the Texas large group renewal notice page. How the renewal sits next to the rest of the market is on compare a renewal to the market.
Call (808) 358-1477 or email aloha@mattragudo.com.
Questions people ask
Why doesn't the renewal letter explain the increase?
The letter is a price and a date. It does not have to separate the market, your census, a plan design change, or the funding type. A second opinion does that split before you accept the renewal.
Can I check the increase before I engage?
Yes. The Renewal Benchmark Check is a self-run public-data tool. It compares your state, headcount, and increase with published KFF, AHRQ MEPS-IC, and Peterson-KFF figures. It is not part of the engagement, and it shares nothing unless you choose to reach out.
What gets checked once we are working together?
Plan design shifts, census and enrollment mix, network fit, funding type, claims history where it exists, and broker compensation. Fully insured, level-funded, and self-funded are shopped together at renewal. Pay is carrier commission, disclosed in writing, in dollars and per employee, before the plan goes through.
What do I keep if the current plan is the right one?
Once the engagement letter and the broker-of-record letter are signed and the transfer finishes in about a month, you get the Plan Report from the carrier’s own data. At renewal you keep the market quotes and the decision file, even when keeping the current plan is the right call.
When should a second opinion start?
150 days before renewal is the latest start for the full cycle. The working dates after that are on the renewal calendar, including the Texas notice window and the market comparison.
I built and sold a health insurance agency: grew it to 60 agents in about 3 years, then sold it. Licensed insurance agent since 2014: Texas license 2501238, NPN 17369817.
Find out why the renewal moved before you accept it.
Approve the engagement letter and sign the broker-of-record letter any time of year. For the coming renewal, 150 days out is the latest. The Plan Report follows a signed broker-of-record letter and the transfer, usually about a month, and it is written from the carrier’s own data. Call (808) 358-1477 or email aloha@mattragudo.com.
Questions first? Email aloha@mattragudo.com or book a 30 minute call.
Sources
- KFF, 2026 Employer Health Benefits Survey (published Oct 22, 2026). Average premiums for single and family coverage each rose 5% from 2025 to 2026. kff.org/health-costs/2026-employer-health-benefits-survey/