Chattanooga, Tennessee employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
89 employers in Chattanooga, Tennessee filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 64,657 participants. They reported $49M in insurance premiums and $12M in broker commissions and fees. The median broker rate on commission-paying, fully insured medical plans was 4.5% of premium, against 3.9% across Tennessee and 3.8% nationally. Against 2023, premiums were up 43.2% and broker pay rose 17.3%.
Funding: 28 fully insured · 31 self-funded · 30 mixed. 61 of 89 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Chattanooga
Chattanooga employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal Energy, LLC | $4,161,021 | $186,891 | 262 | Bruce Sammis |
| Southern Health Partners, Inc. | $3,347,843 | $195,964 | 624 | Joshua Smith |
| BLDR Holdings, Inc. | $3,036,962 | $152,180 | 246 | Willis Towers Watson |
| U.S. Xpress Enterprises, Inc. | $2,960,976 | $1,142,928 | 8,172 | Custom Benefit Programs Inc |
| Micronics Engineered Filtration Group, Inc. | $2,740,542 | $151,824 | 409 | Sara Lynch |
| Vision Hospitality Group, Inc | $2,695,857 | $187,218 | 715 | Robert Huffaker JR |
| Steam Logistics, LLC | $2,484,133 | $139,486 | 704 | Wells Wright |
| Marion Environmental Inc. | $2,207,470 | $118,372 | 163 | David Bennett |
| Astec Industries, Inc. | $2,171,582 | $598,193 | 3,474 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Maturecare of Standifer Place, LLC | $1,885,246 | $121,142 | 249 | Jennifer Kinley-Lawrence |
| Reliance Partners, LLC | $1,780,922 | $96,230 | 277 | Renewal |
| Gametime, a Division of Playcore Wisconsin, Inc. | $1,740,964 | $423,499 | 2,734 | Lockton |
| Mountain View Auto Group | $1,695,429 | $106,462 | 213 | Fred Moore |
| Sunland Employee Leasing, LLC | $1,552,141 | $101,778 | 391 | Jennifer Kinley-Lawrence |
| Tag Manufacturing, Inc. | $1,531,567 | $62,242 | 334 | Darren Thompson |
| North American Credit Services | $1,422,148 | $319,891 | 512 | Brent Wick |
| Tranco Logistics, LLC | $1,381,196 | $101,490 | 225 | Austin Jett |
| Atomic Transport, LLC | $1,377,473 | $347,475 | 477 | Austin Jett |
| Covenant Transport Group, Inc. | $1,168,657 | $879,350 | 2,732 | Lockton |
| Chattanooga Goodwill Industries Inc. | $949,701 | $78,851 | 253 | Ryan Rothrock |
| McKay Books, Inc. | $859,262 | $94,779 | 194 | David Figlestahler |
| Trident Transport, LLC | $753,470 | $39,907 | 210 | Justin White |
| 2nds in Building Materials, Inc. | $744,656 | $66,602 | 213 | Austin Jett |
| Fillauer Companies, Inc. | $696,645 | $59,056 | 177 | Rick Metzelder |
| Miller & Martin PLLC | $560,887 | $107,025 | 174 | Russ Blakely |
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 Chattanooga employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Marsh McLennan Agency | $1,603,627 | 23 |
| Lockton | $1,520,205 | 7 |
| The Baldwin Group | $1,305,345 | 23 |
| Willis Towers Watson | $780,055 | 4 |
| Custom Benefit Programs Inc | $612,482 | 1 |
| Brent Wick | $476,205 | 7 |
| Aon | $473,966 | 1 |
| CBIZ | $412,767 | 2 |
| Austin Jett | $364,568 | 6 |
| Alliant Insurance Services | $336,286 | 1 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Chattanooga against Tennessee 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.
| Chattanooga | Tennessee | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 89 | 1,276 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | 4.5% (20 plans) | 3.9% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | 3.8% – 6.0% | 3.3% – 5.3% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $82,396 | $82,913 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | $5,279 | $5,747 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 1 | 13 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 82 Chattanooga employers reported $34M in premiums and $11M in broker pay for 52,326 participants; in 2024 it was $49M and $12M for 64,657 participants (premiums +43.2%, broker pay +17.3%).
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 Chattanooga employers pay health insurance brokers?
89 Chattanooga employers reported $12,379,360 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 87 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Among 20 commission-paying, fully insured medical plans, the median broker rate was 4.5% of premium, 0.6 points above the Tennessee median of 3.9% and 0.7 points above the U.S. median of 3.8%. In dollars, the median Chattanooga employer that disclosed broker pay reported $82,396.
Which Chattanooga employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Signal Energy, LLC ($4.2M), Southern Health Partners, Inc. ($3.3M), BLDR Holdings, Inc. ($3.0M) lead. 25 Chattanooga employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Chattanooga?
By compensation reported by Chattanooga employers, the largest brokers are Marsh McLennan Agency ($1.6M, 23 plans), Lockton ($1.5M, 7 plans), The Baldwin Group ($1.3M, 23 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Bluecross Blueshield of Tennessee, Inc., Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc..
Are Chattanooga employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 89 Chattanooga employer plans, 28 are fully insured, 31 are self-funded and 30 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 Tennessee
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