(800) 779-4090 info@waughagency.insure
About Insights Contact
Employee benefits · 2026

Your renewal is a
negotiating position,
not a bill.

Trend is running above ten percent and carriers are pricing accordingly. We model fully insured, level-funded and self-funded side by side, take the plan to market properly, and put the funding decision in front of you as a number rather than a recommendation.

Send us your renewal What we handle
5 to 500 benefit-eligible Employees in any state Administration included
What a funding review looks atIllustrative
Renewal as deliveredCarrier's opening position+14.2%
Same benefits, level-fundedWith stop-loss at 125%+3.1%
Employee cost shareDeductible and out-of-pocket maxUnchanged
Compliance items closedERISA, 5500, 6055/6056, §12512 / 12
Increase absorbedBenefits held
Filings handled5500, ACA reporting, COBRA, wrap
Where we specialise Self-funded & level-funded HSA & HRA design §6055 / §6056 reporting Multistate paid leave
What we handle

Three jobs that usually sit with three vendors.

Most employers we meet have a broker for the plan, a payroll vendor half-doing administration, and nobody clearly responsible for the filings. When something is missed it is almost always in a gap between the three.

The plan

Medical, dental, vision, life, disability and the voluntary lines. Marketed properly at renewal, not rolled over.

  • Fully insured, level-funded, self-funded
  • ICHRA where a group plan no longer fits
  • HSA and HRA pairing
  • Contribution modelling by tier
Group health insurance →

The administration

Employee Navigator, configured and maintained by us. Enrolment, new hires, terminations and carrier feeds.

  • Online open enrolment
  • Electronic carrier connections
  • New-hire and QLE workflows
  • Census and payroll reporting
Employee Navigator →

The compliance

The filings and documents that arrive without a reminder and are expensive to have skipped.

  • ACA reporting and ESR exposure
  • Form 5500 and Schedule A
  • ERISA wrap and §125 documents
  • COBRA and state paid leave
Compliance →
How a renewal actually goes

Four steps, starting about 120 days out.

The work that changes the number happens before the carrier issues its renewal, not after. By the time a renewal letter arrives, most of the negotiating leverage is already spent.

Start a review

1

Read the claims

Large claimants, chronic conditions, pharmacy spend and utilisation. On a fully insured plan this means asking the carrier for what they are obliged to release, which not every broker bothers to do.

2

Model the funding

Fully insured, level-funded and self-funded costed against the same census and the same benefits. Including the bad year, not only the expected one.

3

Take it to market

Multiple carriers, real quotes, and a recommendation you can hand to a CFO with the arithmetic still attached.

4

Implement and hold

Open enrolment in Employee Navigator, carrier feeds tested, documents issued, filings calendared. Then monthly reporting so the next renewal is not a surprise.

Why employers move

The difference is usually what is included.

 Typical agencyWaugh Agency
Claims data reviewed before renewalSometimesEvery year
Funding alternatives modelledOn requestStandard
Benefits administration platformExtra costIncluded
ERISA wrap and §125 documentsReferred outPrepared
ACA reporting supportReferred outHandled
Multistate leave programmesRarelyTracked
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An independent agency is paid the same whichever carrier you choose. That is the whole argument for using one — the advice has nothing riding on the answer.
Waugh Agency · Andover, Massachusetts
Request a review

Send the renewal, and we will tell you what we would change

No fee, and no obligation to move the business. Most employers who contact us are simply trying to work out whether the number in front of them is a fair one.

We reply to enquiries within one business day. We do not sell or share contact details.

Waugh Agency has advised employers on health and welfare benefits since 1985. Our full site — including Medicare, individual and travel coverage — is at waughagency.com.