Durham, North Carolina employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
86 employers in Durham, North Carolina filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 139,299 participants. They reported $10M in insurance premiums and $14M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were up 52.1% and broker pay rose 2.6%.
Funding: 17 fully insured · 25 self-funded · 44 mixed. 69 of 86 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Durham
Durham employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kbi Biopharma Inc | $2,304,459 | $516,181 | 1,571 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Duke University | $1,976,780 | $1,998,494 | 41,333 | Mark Iii Brokerage Inc |
| Glaxosmithkline LLC | $1,116,859 | $392,744 | 25,061 | Mercer |
| Bioventus LLC | $708,301 | $71,027 | 873 | Mercer |
| Association of International Certified Professional Accountants | $659,163 | $114,654 | 729 | Aon |
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina | $592,188 | $625,953 | 6,691 | Lockton |
| Velocity Clinical Research Inc. | $591,344 | $419,438 | 1,577 | Ebenconcepts Company |
| Biocryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | $456,574 | $149,107 | 402 | Lockton |
| Rho, Inc. | $356,882 | $171,502 | 400 | Gallagher |
| Iqvia Inc. | $256,601 | $1,848,329 | 17,835 | Mercer |
| Nu North America, Inc. | $205,469 | $103,033 | 106 | Mercer |
| Humacyte, Inc. | $198,930 | $157,029 | 185 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Aspida Financial Services, LLC | $135,847 | $127,081 | 168 | Russell C Carter |
| Spreedly Inc. | $125,621 | $71,912 | 108 | Gallagher |
| Precision Bioscience, Inc. | $116,273 | $62,337 | 111 | Mercer |
| Triangle Brick Company | $103,178 | $52,255 | 282 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Phononic, Inc. | $86,197 | $70,183 | 117 | Kenneth Crist |
| Asensus Surgical, Inc. | $80,594 | $89,168 | 118 | Scott Insurance Services |
| Revco Solutions, Inc. | $42,704 | $191,754 | 350 | William Salmon |
| Biomerieux, Inc. | $0 | $462,611 | 6,243 | Sterling Seacrest Partners, Inc. |
| Fortrea Inc. | $0 | $378,109 | 4,896 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Wolfspeed, Inc. | $0 | $139,881 | 4,526 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Avalara, Inc. | $0 | $278,237 | 2,596 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Emergeortho, P.A. | $0 | $248,883 | 1,830 | Frerick E. Angle |
| Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, Inc. | $0 | $111,011 | 1,651 | Mercer |
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 Durham employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer | $3,091,413 | 10 |
| Marsh McLennan Agency | $2,203,601 | 25 |
| Gallagher | $1,486,070 | 22 |
| Mark Iii Brokerage Inc. | $1,182,877 | 1 |
| Willis Towers Watson | $696,432 | 3 |
| Lockton | $466,825 | 5 |
| Ebenconcepts Company | $459,820 | 2 |
| Mosaic Group Services LLC | $397,852 | 15 |
| Aon | $301,058 | 4 |
| Sterling Seacrest Partners, Inc. | $232,221 | 1 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Durham against North Carolina 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.
| Durham | North Carolina | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 86 | 1,587 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | n/a | 4.5% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | n/a | 2.8% – 7.0% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $73,561 | $64,516 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | n/a | $5,949 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 1 | 12 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 86 Durham employers reported $6.7M in premiums and $14M in broker pay for 113,274 participants; in 2024 it was $10M and $14M for 139,299 participants (premiums +52.1%, broker pay +2.6%).
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 Durham employers pay health insurance brokers?
86 Durham employers reported $14,014,065 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 84 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Durham reported premium to compute a stable commission rate; the North Carolina median is 4.5% and the U.S. median is 3.8%. In dollars, the median Durham employer that disclosed broker pay reported $73,561.
Which Durham employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Kbi Biopharma Inc ($2.3M), Duke University ($2.0M), Glaxosmithkline LLC ($1.1M) lead. 25 Durham employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Durham?
By compensation reported by Durham employers, the largest brokers are Mercer ($3.1M, 10 plans), Marsh McLennan Agency ($2.2M, 25 plans), Gallagher ($1.5M, 22 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Aetna Life Insurance Company.
Are Durham employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 86 Durham employer plans, 17 are fully insured, 25 are self-funded and 44 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 North Carolina
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