Houston, Texas employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
1,029 employers in Houston, Texas filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 1,191,793 participants. They reported $490M in insurance premiums and $154M in broker commissions and fees. The median broker rate on commission-paying, fully insured medical plans was 6.0% of premium, against 5.6% across Texas and 3.8% nationally. Against 2023, premiums were down 17.4% and broker pay rose 7.5%.
Funding: 297 fully insured · 347 self-funded · 385 mixed. 732 of 1,029 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Houston
Houston employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Oilwell Varco | $95,176,921 | $1,068,866 | 11,627 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Enbridge Employee Services, Inc. | $54,206,330 | — | 4,525 | — |
| Targa Resources LLC | $52,577,862 | $562,655 | 3,187 | The Plexus Groupe LLC |
| Board of Trustees Texas Pipe Trades Health Benefit Plan | $50,939,073 | — | 4,612 | — |
| DXP Enterprises, Inc | $21,210,160 | $603,090 | 2,594 | Mercer |
| Shintech Incorporated | $19,039,245 | $278,199 | 1,026 | Lockton |
| Lja Engineering, Inc. | $17,109,229 | $48,907 | 1,750 | Alliant Insurance Services |
| Livanova USA, Inc. | $11,489,322 | $326,974 | 1,216 | Hilb Group of New England |
| Edp Renewables North America LLC | $11,192,076 | $399,777 | 838 | Mercer |
| Foxconn Corporation | $9,590,121 | $684,672 | 975 | Gallagher |
| Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc. | $6,771,241 | $205,332 | 1,253 | David Stuart Leiss |
| Bracewell LLP | $6,144,135 | $358,660 | 546 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Dresser Natural Gas Solutions North America, LLC | $5,770,864 | $21,882 | 560 | Aon |
| Ics Holding LLC | $5,631,028 | $283,492 | 1,025 | Valent Group, LLC |
| Dixieco, LLC | $5,236,928 | $416,450 | 536 | Higginbotham |
| Cameron LNG, LLC | $4,758,040 | $84,975 | 327 | USI Insurance Services |
| Shell USA, Inc. | $4,605,476 | $1,405,647 | 33,988 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Troy Companies, LLC | $4,457,923 | $591,766 | 612 | Bowen Miclette & Britt Ins Agency |
| Bastion Technologies Inc. | $3,832,130 | $97,713 | 478 | Higginbotham |
| Tarantino Properties, Inc. | $3,700,399 | $67,120 | 482 | Higginbotham |
| Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | $3,657,792 | $451,212 | 7,051 | Lockton |
| Aramco Shared Benefits Company | $3,357,171 | $42,141 | 3,220 | Willis Towers Watson |
| J.B. Poindexter and Co., Inc. | $2,983,852 | $842,235 | 7,666 | Gallagher |
| The Shaw Group, LLC | $2,976,578 | $446,900 | 670 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Halliburton Company | $2,666,919 | $2,285,892 | 15,481 | 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 Houston employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| USI Insurance Services | $17,872,399 | 178 |
| Marsh McLennan Agency | $17,197,024 | 107 |
| Gallagher | $16,940,571 | 131 |
| Willis Towers Watson | $12,821,081 | 44 |
| Mercer | $12,561,724 | 59 |
| Lockton | $10,330,803 | 86 |
| Alliant Insurance Services | $7,511,983 | 65 |
| Higginbotham | $4,118,943 | 55 |
| The Baldwin Group | $3,272,049 | 34 |
| Aon | $2,897,293 | 35 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Houston against Texas 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.
| Houston | Texas | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 1,029 | 4,926 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | 6.0% (39 plans) | 5.6% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | 3.8% – 7.1% | 2.7% – 6.0% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $95,395 | $86,351 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | $5,806 | $6,089 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 9 | 22 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 1,029 Houston employers reported $593M in premiums and $143M in broker pay for 1,166,771 participants; in 2024 it was $490M and $154M for 1,191,793 participants (premiums −17.4%, broker pay +7.5%).
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 Houston employers pay health insurance brokers?
1,029 Houston employers reported $153,794,837 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 971 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Among 39 commission-paying, fully insured medical plans, the median broker rate was 6.0% of premium, 0.4 points above the Texas median of 5.6% and 2.2 points above the U.S. median of 3.8%. In dollars, the median Houston employer that disclosed broker pay reported $95,395.
Which Houston employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, National Oilwell Varco ($95M), Enbridge Employee Services, Inc. ($54M), Targa Resources LLC ($53M) lead. 25 Houston employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Houston?
By compensation reported by Houston employers, the largest brokers are USI Insurance Services ($18M, 178 plans), Marsh McLennan Agency ($17M, 107 plans), Gallagher ($17M, 131 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Bluecross Blueshield of Illinois, Bluecross Blueshield of Texas, Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company.
Are Houston employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 1,029 Houston employer plans, 297 are fully insured, 347 are self-funded and 385 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 Texas
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