Cleveland, Ohio employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
189 employers in Cleveland, Ohio filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 407,126 participants. They reported $329M in insurance premiums and $21M in broker commissions and fees. The median broker rate on commission-paying, fully insured medical plans was 4.2% of premium, against 3.5% across Ohio and 3.8% nationally. Against 2023, premiums were up 4.1% and broker pay rose 7.2%.
Funding: 50 fully insured · 54 self-funded · 85 mixed. 139 of 189 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Cleveland
Cleveland employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooperating Railway Labor Organizations | $149,844,597 | — | 33,362 | — |
| Case Western Reserve University Postdoctoral Benefits Program | $41,056,306 | $271,247 | 4,321 | James B. Oswald Company |
| Eaton Corporation | $8,715,542 | $30,000 | 24,978 | Creativa Assoc. Fin. & Inv Services |
| Minute Men, Inc. | $8,159,508 | $233,604 | 189 | Minute Men HR Insurance Agency LLC |
| The NRP Investments LLC | $7,819,157 | $398,361 | 692 | NFP |
| Cavaliers Holding LLC | $6,388,820 | $61,009 | 514 | Taylor Oswald, LLC |
| The James B. Oswald Company | $5,616,081 | $400,277 | 451 | James B. Oswald Company |
| Ohio AFSCME Care Plan | $4,818,385 | $221,376 | 22,607 | OneDigital |
| McDonald Hopkins LLC | $4,382,207 | $119,297 | 278 | The James B. Oswald Company |
| Step Forward | $4,222,771 | $125,768 | 320 | Gallagher |
| Baker & Hostetler LLP | $3,939,237 | $153,287 | 1,835 | The James B Oswald Company |
| Cleverland Holdings LLC, dba Embrace Pet Insurance | $3,778,694 | $26,184 | 328 | Emerson Rogers, LLC |
| Saint Ignatius High School | $3,299,783 | $107,486 | 224 | OneDigital |
| Metlife Legal Plans, Inc. | $3,078,410 | $159,730 | 246 | Gallagher |
| Mim Software, Inc. | $3,074,208 | $201,155 | 266 | Taylor Oswald, LLC |
| The Cleveland Museum of Art | $3,036,823 | $118,159 | 312 | Gallagher |
| Union of Roofers, Waterproofers & Allied Workers, Local 44 Welfare | $2,959,232 | — | 275 | — |
| SPR Therapeutics, Inc. | $2,750,902 | $229,424 | 281 | James B. Oswald Companies |
| Playhouse Square Foundation | $2,717,143 | $143,032 | 158 | The Fedeli Group, Inc. |
| Greater Cleveland Food Bank | $2,529,023 | $49,613 | 204 | The Fedeli Group LLC |
| Local 400 Food Terminal Employees Welfare Fund | $2,495,719 | $14,160 | 187 | MR Ins Partners Agency Inc |
| National Safety Apparel | $2,464,286 | $172,846 | 762 | USI Insurance Services |
| Electronic Merchant Systems | $2,388,111 | $100,326 | 161 | Plancorp Vantage Benefit Advisors |
| College Now Greater Cleveland Inc. | $2,212,970 | $193,497 | 215 | James B. Oswald Company |
| Ideastream, Inc. | $2,094,374 | $80,411 | 147 | Gallagher |
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 Cleveland employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| James B. Oswald Company | $2,917,205 | 38 |
| Gallagher | $1,700,927 | 32 |
| Willis Towers Watson | $1,673,769 | 11 |
| Aon | $1,589,428 | 8 |
| Lockton | $959,972 | 8 |
| Frederick W. Howarth Iii | $880,012 | 1 |
| USI Insurance Services | $848,888 | 19 |
| Strategic Non-Medical Solution | $771,881 | 5 |
| NFP | $686,074 | 10 |
| CBIZ | $660,836 | 7 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Cleveland against Ohio 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.
| Cleveland | Ohio | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 189 | 2,404 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | 4.2% (40 plans) | 3.5% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | 2.6% – 4.9% | 2.5% – 4.7% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $63,624 | $56,081 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | $11,424 | $11,620 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 4 | 17 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 194 Cleveland employers reported $317M in premiums and $20M in broker pay for 399,873 participants; in 2024 it was $329M and $21M for 407,126 participants (premiums +4.1%, broker pay +7.2%).
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 Cleveland employers pay health insurance brokers?
189 Cleveland employers reported $21,143,268 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 174 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Among 40 commission-paying, fully insured medical plans, the median broker rate was 4.2% of premium, 0.7 points above the Ohio median of 3.5% and 0.4 points above the U.S. median of 3.8%. In dollars, the median Cleveland employer that disclosed broker pay reported $63,624.
Which Cleveland employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Cooperating Railway Labor Organizations ($150M), Case Western Reserve University Postdoctoral Benefits Program ($41M), Eaton Corporation ($8.7M) lead. 25 Cleveland employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Cleveland?
By compensation reported by Cleveland employers, the largest brokers are James B. Oswald Company ($2.9M, 38 plans), Gallagher ($1.7M, 32 plans), Willis Towers Watson ($1.7M, 11 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Medical Mutual.
Are Cleveland employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 189 Cleveland employer plans, 50 are fully insured, 54 are self-funded and 85 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 Ohio
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