Needham, Massachusetts employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
18 employers in Needham, Massachusetts filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 10,022 participants. They reported $25M in insurance premiums and $2.9M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were up 53.0% and broker pay rose 60.0%.
Funding: 3 fully insured · 3 self-funded · 12 mixed. 15 of 18 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Needham
Needham employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sharkninja Operating LLC | $18,344,660 | $629,519 | 1,188 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Invicro, LLC | $3,865,864 | $101,365 | 264 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. | $3,227,201 | $96,293 | 160 | Patriot Growth |
| Justice Resource Institute, Inc. | $0 | $33,033 | 1,868 | PFG Benefits, Inc. |
| Lily Transportation Corp. | $0 | $967,663 | 1,306 | Blue Benefit Administrators of Mass |
| International Data Group Health and Welfare Benefit Plan | $0 | $158,666 | 1,024 | HUB International |
| Tripadvisor LLC | $0 | $6,817 | 911 | Willis Towers Watson |
| C and J Clark America Incorporated | $0 | $12,482 | 836 | CBIZ |
| Backoffice Associates LLC dba Syniti | $0 | $186,297 | 374 | Brown & Brown |
| First Help Financial | $0 | $182,172 | 330 | Bennie Insurance, LLC |
| Coretelligent, LLC | $0 | $91,133 | 317 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| The Charles River Center | $0 | $156,859 | 310 | Hilb Group of New England |
| Needham Bank | $0 | — | 287 | — |
| North Hill Communities, Inc. | $0 | $126,919 | 277 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Walker, Inc. | $0 | $69,813 | 237 | Brown & Brown |
| Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | $0 | $13,658 | 122 | NFP |
| Chestnut Dental Associates, P.C. | $0 | $15,057 | 111 | Sentinel Insurance Agency, Inc. |
| Hyannis Port Research | $0 | $42,070 | 100 | Innovo Benefits Group |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, plan year 2024; employers are grouped by the sponsor's mailing city as filed. Self-funded employers show only stop-loss and ancillary premium.
Who gets paid
Commissions and fees reported by Needham employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Willis Towers Watson | $637,393 | 3 |
| Blue Benefit Administrators of Mass | $373,735 | 1 |
| Marsh McLennan Agency | $294,546 | 3 |
| Brown & Brown | $245,764 | 2 |
| HUB International | $158,666 | 1 |
| Hilb Group of New England | $156,859 | 1 |
| Cottingham & Butler | $152,616 | 1 |
| Rispler, David | $140,675 | 1 |
| Premier Consulting Partners | $133,517 | 1 |
| Bennie Insurance, LLC | $127,208 | 1 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Needham against Massachusetts and the U.S.
Medians over the same definitions on every BenefitsLedger page: commission rate on commission-paying, fully insured medical plans; broker pay per employer that disclosed any; medical premium per covered person.
| Needham | Massachusetts | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 18 | 1,864 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | n/a | 2.5% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | n/a | 2.0% – 3.2% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $96,293 | $75,078 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | n/a | $8,072 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 0 | 18 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 17 Needham employers reported $17M in premiums and $1.8M in broker pay for 8,809 participants; in 2024 it was $25M and $2.9M for 10,022 participants (premiums +53.0%, broker pay +60.0%).
Source: DOL Form 5500 and Schedule A, plan years 2024 and 2023, employer health plans with 100 or more participants; built October 24, 2026. Medians need at least 10 rated plans to be shown for a city. Methodology.
How much do Needham employers pay health insurance brokers?
18 Needham employers reported $2,889,816 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 17 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Needham reported premium to compute a stable commission rate; the Massachusetts median is 2.5% and the U.S. median is 3.8%. In dollars, the median Needham employer that disclosed broker pay reported $96,293.
Which Needham employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Sharkninja Operating LLC ($18M), Invicro, LLC ($3.9M), Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. ($3.2M) lead. 18 Needham employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Needham?
By compensation reported by Needham employers, the largest brokers are Willis Towers Watson ($637,393, 3 plans), Blue Benefit Administrators of Mass ($373,735, 1 plans), Marsh McLennan Agency ($294,546, 3 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Inc., Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company.
Are Needham employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 18 Needham employer plans, 3 are fully insured, 3 are self-funded and 12 mix insured and self-funded coverage. Self-funded plans report only stop-loss and ancillary contracts on Schedule A, so their premium and broker pay understate total spend.
Other cities in Massachusetts
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