North Charleston, South Carolina employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
26 employers in North Charleston, South Carolina filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 8,543 participants. They reported $31M in insurance premiums and $2.0M in broker commissions and fees. The median broker rate on commission-paying, fully insured medical plans was 4.0% of premium, against 3.9% across South Carolina and 3.8% nationally. Against 2023, premiums were up 11.4% and broker pay fell 5.9%.
Funding: 8 fully insured · 6 self-funded · 12 mixed. 18 of 26 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in North Charleston
North Charleston employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refuel Operating Company | $4,763,696 | $269,023 | 1,794 | Ross Campbell |
| Detyens Shipyards, Inc. | $4,134,947 | $56,239 | 265 | Hilb Group of South Carolina |
| Palmetto Goodwill Services | $3,995,075 | $82,629 | 452 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Atlas Technologies, Inc. | $3,191,487 | $95,265 | 308 | USI Insurance Services |
| The Urban Electric Company | $2,201,589 | $131,198 | 242 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Maritime Association of SC Group Insurance Trust | $2,076,676 | — | 107 | — |
| CPM Federal Credit Union | $1,859,867 | $143,391 | 189 | Laurie Winston Forum Benefits, Inc |
| George Sink P.A. Injury Lawyers | $1,775,180 | $86,747 | 157 | NFP |
| Arcis Healthcare, LLC | $1,399,543 | $86,129 | 167 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Atlantic Electric, LLC | $1,242,380 | $67,733 | 129 | Hilb Group of South Carolina |
| The Neighborhood Dining Group | $1,201,847 | $102,866 | 252 | Forum Benefits Inc |
| Otter Learning, LLC | $1,141,986 | $144,303 | 245 | Julie Cape Digital Insurance, LLC |
| Palmetto Moon | $825,900 | $56,100 | 100 | RSC Insurance Brokerage Inc |
| Palmetto Residential Electric, LLC | $639,214 | $42,346 | 133 | Jeffcoat and Jeffcoat Insurance |
| Preferred Home Services | $412,519 | $100,514 | 181 | Vero Advising LLC |
| Ingevity Corporation | $0 | $93,935 | 1,455 | NFP |
| Life Cycle Engineering, Inc. | $0 | $122,772 | 430 | NFP |
| New Hope Treatment Centers | $0 | $50,696 | 368 | Brown & Brown |
| Belmond USA Inc. | $0 | $3,366 | 293 | Lockton |
| Sanders Brothers Construction Co. Inc | $0 | $22,241 | 256 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Banks Construction Company | $0 | $5,182 | 223 | Lockton |
| Cullum Mechanical Construction, Inc. | $0 | $51,412 | 207 | Brown & Brown |
| Coc Auto, LLC dba Crews Chevrolet | $0 | $24,318 | 191 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Commit Enterprises, Inc. | $0 | $89,183 | 156 | The Baldwin Group |
| Trident Construction Resource Management, LLC | $0 | $37,428 | 126 | USI Insurance Services |
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 North Charleston employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Marsh McLennan Agency | $358,550 | 6 |
| NFP | $354,285 | 5 |
| Forum Benefits Inc | $154,376 | 2 |
| Ross Campbell | $131,291 | 1 |
| USI Insurance Services | $125,214 | 3 |
| Hilb Group of South Carolina | $122,811 | 2 |
| Brown & Brown | $95,006 | 2 |
| The Baldwin Group | $95,006 | 2 |
| Laurie Winston Forum Benefits, Inc | $75,400 | 1 |
| Julie Cape Digital Insurance, LLC | $72,754 | 1 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
North Charleston against South 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.
| North Charleston | South Carolina | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 26 | 612 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | 4.0% (11 plans) | 3.9% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | 3.4% – 4.3% | 2.7% – 4.4% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $82,629 | $73,727 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | $9,821 | $10,873 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 2 | 37 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 26 North Charleston employers reported $28M in premiums and $2.2M in broker pay for 8,507 participants; in 2024 it was $31M and $2.0M for 8,543 participants (premiums +11.4%, broker pay −5.9%).
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 North Charleston employers pay health insurance brokers?
26 North Charleston employers reported $2,026,824 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 25 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Among 11 commission-paying, fully insured medical plans, the median broker rate was 4.0% of premium, 0.1 points above the South Carolina median of 3.9% and 0.2 points above the U.S. median of 3.8%. In dollars, the median North Charleston employer that disclosed broker pay reported $82,629.
Which North Charleston employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Refuel Operating Company ($4.8M), Detyens Shipyards, Inc. ($4.1M), Palmetto Goodwill Services ($4.0M) lead. 25 North Charleston employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in North Charleston?
By compensation reported by North Charleston employers, the largest brokers are Marsh McLennan Agency ($358,550, 6 plans), NFP ($354,285, 5 plans), Forum Benefits Inc ($154,376, 2 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, Bluechoice Healthplan, Blue Choice Health Plan of South Carolina.
Are North Charleston employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 26 North Charleston employer plans, 8 are fully insured, 6 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 South Carolina
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