Bellingham, Washington employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
27 employers in Bellingham, Washington filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 9,456 participants. They reported $262,408 in insurance premiums and $2.0M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were up 111.6% and broker pay fell 4.0%.
Funding: 4 fully insured · 13 self-funded · 10 mixed. 23 of 27 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Bellingham
Bellingham employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nightingale Healthcare LLC | $140,826 | $8,777 | 238 | — |
| Tidal Vision Products Inc. | $121,582 | $112,295 | 177 | Alliant Insurance Services |
| Exp World Holdings, Inc. | $0 | $401,732 | 1,639 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Lummi Indian Business Council | $0 | $61,711 | 1,170 | Parker Smith & Feek Inc. |
| Place Benefits Trust | $0 | $355,751 | 770 | Gallagher |
| Family Care Network, P.L.L.C. | $0 | $189,384 | 477 | Gallagher |
| Anvil Corporation | $0 | $11,008 | 476 | AssuredPartners |
| Peoples Bank | $0 | $50,382 | 462 | HUB International |
| Whatcom Educational Credit Union | $0 | $25,861 | 431 | Wilson Albers an Alera Group Agency |
| Smith Gardens, Inc. | $0 | $122,841 | 420 | USI Insurance Services |
| Hollander Hospitality, Inc | $0 | $56,596 | 327 | Fortiphi |
| Bornstein Seafoods, Inc. | $0 | $42,927 | 297 | HUB International |
| Unity Care NW | $0 | $11,463 | 297 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Faithlife, LLC | $0 | $197,239 | 248 | USI Insurance Services |
| Trans-Ocean Products, Inc. | $0 | $4,936 | 232 | Intermediary Services LLC |
| Opportunity Council | $0 | $26,672 | 225 | HUB International |
| Grizzly Industrial, Inc. | $0 | $23,885 | 215 | USI Insurance Services |
| Community Food Co-Operative | $0 | $6,732 | 178 | HUB International |
| Exxel Pacific, Inc. | $0 | $21,026 | 172 | HUB International |
| Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers | $0 | $110,244 | 171 | HUB International |
| Larson Gross, PLLC | $0 | $80,174 | 153 | HUB International |
| BCS Operations LLC | $0 | $8,722 | 146 | Alliant Insurance Services |
| Lake Whatcom Residential & Treatment Center | $0 | $72,466 | 113 | HUB International |
| Frontline Call Center, LLC | $0 | $4,289 | 108 | Custom Benefit Consultants Inc. |
| MT Baker Imaging, LLC | $0 | $11,913 | 107 | The Baldwin Group |
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 Bellingham employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Gallagher | $545,135 | 2 |
| Marsh McLennan Agency | $411,620 | 2 |
| HUB International | $375,500 | 9 |
| USI Insurance Services | $338,470 | 3 |
| Alliant Insurance Services | $166,906 | 4 |
| Parker Smith & Feek Inc. | $45,064 | 2 |
| Fortiphi | $42,989 | 1 |
| Wilson Albers an Alera Group Agency | $25,861 | 1 |
| The Baldwin Group | $19,871 | 2 |
| PCF Insurance Services of the West | $12,399 | 1 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Bellingham against Washington 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.
| Bellingham | Washington | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 27 | 1,423 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | n/a | 1.3% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | n/a | 0.6% – 3.1% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $26,672 | $40,089 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | n/a | n/a | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 0 | 5 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 25 Bellingham employers reported $124,005 in premiums and $2.1M in broker pay for 9,364 participants; in 2024 it was $262,408 and $2.0M for 9,456 participants (premiums +111.6%, broker pay −4.0%).
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 Bellingham employers pay health insurance brokers?
27 Bellingham employers reported $2,032,683 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 27 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Bellingham reported premium to compute a stable commission rate; the Washington median is 1.3% and the U.S. median is 3.8%. In dollars, the median Bellingham employer that disclosed broker pay reported $26,672.
Which Bellingham employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Nightingale Healthcare LLC ($140,826), Tidal Vision Products Inc. ($121,582), Exp World Holdings, Inc. ($0) lead. 25 Bellingham employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Bellingham?
By compensation reported by Bellingham employers, the largest brokers are Gallagher ($545,135, 2 plans), Marsh McLennan Agency ($411,620, 2 plans), HUB International ($375,500, 9 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Premera Blue Cross, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Unitedhealthcare Insurance Company.
Are Bellingham employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 27 Bellingham employer plans, 4 are fully insured, 13 are self-funded and 10 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 Washington
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