Seattle, Washington employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
386 employers in Seattle, Washington filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 2,841,612 participants. They reported $263M in insurance premiums and $44M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were up 82.3% and broker pay rose 20.0%.
Funding: 63 fully insured · 149 self-funded · 174 mixed. 323 of 386 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Seattle
Seattle employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Boeing Co. and Consolidated Subsidiaries | $131,820,993 | $5,880,543 | 135,462 | Mercer |
| Starbucks Corporation | $43,825,016 | $3,315,756 | 211,247 | Aon |
| Board of Trustees, SEIU Healthcare NW Health | $29,010,708 | $53,734 | 25,367 | Dimartino Associates |
| Slalom, Inc. | $7,706,932 | $2,819,430 | 9,878 | Aon |
| Woodland Park Zoological Society | $2,727,957 | $2,855,336 | 294 | Assurex Global Corporation |
| Teamsters Local Union No. 856 H. & W. Fund | $2,624,518 | $110,632 | 6,155 | Stealth Partner Group |
| Perkins Coie LLP | $2,343,988 | $501,356 | 2,491 | Pillar International Insurance Advi |
| Allen Institute | $2,080,479 | $38,490 | 823 | USI Insurance Services |
| Northwest Financial Assns Employee Benefit Trust | $2,057,099 | $16,402 | 4,310 | Brown & Brown |
| Holland America Line N.V. | $1,922,375 | $52,841 | 3,049 | Mercer |
| Wafd Bank | $1,544,844 | $83,285 | 2,075 | Acrisure |
| Board of Trustees, Lo 302 & 612 Intl Union of Oper | $1,528,081 | — | 11,602 | — |
| Seattle Police Officers Guild, Inc. | $1,304,270 | $41,542 | 1,014 | RL Evans Company Inc |
| Retiree's Welfare Trust Board of Trustees | $1,140,026 | — | 19,193 | — |
| Coffman Engineers Incorporated | $1,122,977 | $15,327 | 725 | Gallagher |
| KPFF Inc | $1,105,801 | $34,414 | 1,317 | Gallagher |
| Trident Seafoods, LLC | $1,048,165 | $17,718 | 3,322 | Kibble & Prentice Holding Company |
| Davis Wright Tremaine LLP | $997,624 | $62,698 | 1,480 | Professional Benefit Consultants |
| Board of Trustees, the Bledsoe Health Trust | $865,784 | — | 3,999 | — |
| Board of Trustees, Northwest Metal Crafts Trust Fund | $830,279 | $185,414 | 880 | Interremedy Insurance Services |
| Pacific Northwest Consulting Engineers | $824,744 | — | 665 | — |
| Delta Dental of Washington | $809,478 | $48,178 | 479 | Alliant Insurance Services |
| Remitly, Inc. | $784,663 | $42,161 | 714 | EPIC Insurance Brokers |
| Sana Biotechnology, Inc. | $742,836 | $74,625 | 343 | Abd Ins. and Financial SVCS., Inc. |
| Brooks Sports, Inc. | $646,037 | $10,446 | 723 | 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 Seattle employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer | $7,472,391 | 19 |
| Aon | $4,740,656 | 9 |
| USI Insurance Services | $3,448,596 | 74 |
| Strategic Non-Medical Solution | $2,681,896 | 4 |
| Gallagher | $2,448,497 | 31 |
| Alliant Insurance Services | $1,959,219 | 34 |
| Willis Towers Watson | $1,259,606 | 7 |
| AssuredPartners | $1,095,487 | 22 |
| The Baldwin Group | $1,031,004 | 20 |
| Lockton | $892,934 | 7 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Seattle 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.
| Seattle | Washington | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 386 | 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 | $49,397 | $40,089 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | n/a | n/a | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 1 | 5 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 388 Seattle employers reported $144M in premiums and $37M in broker pay for 2,126,129 participants; in 2024 it was $263M and $44M for 2,841,612 participants (premiums +82.3%, broker pay +20.0%).
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 Seattle employers pay health insurance brokers?
386 Seattle employers reported $44,374,551 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 355 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Seattle 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 Seattle employer that disclosed broker pay reported $49,397.
Which Seattle employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, The Boeing Co. and Consolidated Subsidiaries ($132M), Starbucks Corporation ($44M), Board of Trustees, SEIU Healthcare NW Health ($29M) lead. 25 Seattle employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Seattle?
By compensation reported by Seattle employers, the largest brokers are Mercer ($7.5M, 19 plans), Aon ($4.7M, 9 plans), USI Insurance Services ($3.4M, 74 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington Options, Inc., Medical Mutual.
Are Seattle employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 386 Seattle employer plans, 63 are fully insured, 149 are self-funded and 174 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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