Buy-Sell Agreement Insurance After Connelly: What Business Owners Must Restructure in 2026
Reading Time: 7 minutesBuy-Sell Agreement Insurance After Connelly: What Business Owners Must Restructure in 2026 The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2024 decision in Connelly v. United States changed the estate tax math for thousands of business owners with entity-redemption buy-sell agreements funded by life insurance. If your company owns a life insurance policy to fund a buyout of […]
Is an Umbrella Policy a Waste of Money? Here’s What $1M in Coverage Actually Costs
Reading Time: 8 minutesIs an Umbrella Policy a Waste of Money? Here’s What $1M in Coverage Actually Costs Last Updated: March 2026 No — an umbrella policy is not a waste of money. A $1 million personal umbrella policy costs between $150 and $300 per year, which works out to $12–$25 per month. For that, you get liability […]
Employee Benefits Open Enrollment: A Timeline for HR Directors
Reading Time: 8 minutesEmployee Benefits Open Enrollment: A Timeline for HR Directors Key Takeaways for HR Directors Open enrollment starts 90–120 days before your plan year, not 30 days — HR Directors who begin the process in September for a January 1 plan year are already behind on carrier negotiations. The carrier negotiation and benchmarking phase (Days 90–60) […]
Employee Benefits Strategy for Growing Mid-Market Companies
Reading Time: 10 minutesRelated Resources Working With An Employee Benefits Broker Benchmarking Your Benefits Package Employee Benefits Strategy for Growing Mid-Market Companies Key Takeaways for HR Directors and CFOs Benefits strategy is a talent strategy — companies scaling from 100 to 500 employees are competing for the same people, and your benefits program is a material factor in […]
Outsourcing Employee Benefits Administration: When It Makes Sense
Reading Time: 9 minutesOutsourcing Employee Benefits Administration: When It Makes Sense for Mid-Market Employers Key Takeaways for HR Directors and CFOs The 150–200 employee inflection point is where most mid-market companies outgrow manual benefits administration — HR capacity breaks before headcount does. Outsourcing benefits administration is not the same as outsourcing your broker relationship — a full-service benefits […]
How Much Do Employee Benefits Cost Per Employee in 2026
Reading Time: 9 minutesHow Much Do Employee Benefits Cost Per Employee in 2026 Key Cost Benchmarks for Mid-Market Employers Total benefits cost: 25–40% of base payroll — for a company with 200 employees averaging $75,000 in salary, that’s $3.75M–$6M in annual benefits spend. Health insurance alone averages $8,000–$14,000 per employee per year in employer cost, depending on plan […]
Employee Benefits Compliance Checklist for Mid-Market Employers
Reading Time: 9 minutesReading Time: 9 minutes Employee Benefits Compliance Checklist for Mid-Market Employers (2026) Key Compliance Obligations at a Glance ACA Employer Mandate — Applicable Large Employers (50+ FTEs) must offer affordable minimum essential coverage to 95%+ of full-time employees and file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C annually. ERISA Plan Documents — Every ERISA-covered benefit plan requires a […]
Employee Benefit Plan Audit: What Mid-Market Employers Need to Know
Reading Time: 9 minutesReading Time: 8 minutes Employee Benefit Plan Audit: What Mid-Market Employers Need to Know Key Takeaways for Plan Sponsors ERISA requires an annual independent audit for any benefit plan with 100 or more participants with account balances — this is mandatory, not optional, and penalties for non-compliance compound daily. The 2023 change to Form 5500 […]
Employee Benefits Benchmarking: How Mid-Market Companies Stack Up
Reading Time: 8 minutesReading Time: 8 minutes Employee Benefits Benchmarking: How Mid-Market Companies Stack Up in 2026 Key Takeaways for CFOs and HR Directors 53% of mid-market employers are actively reducing healthcare costs in 2026 — benchmarking data tells you whether your program is above or below the market before your carrier uses that information against you at […]
Employee Benefits Broker for Mid-Market Companies: The Complete Guide
Reading Time: 11 minutesRelated Resources Employee Benefits Benchmarking Data Compliance Checklist Cost Per Employee Benchmarks Reading Time: 11 minutes Employee Benefits Broker for Mid-Market Companies: The Complete Guide Key Takeaways for HR Directors and CFOs A broker manages 25–40% of your payroll cost — the difference between a transactional broker and a strategic advisor shows up directly in […]