Milwaukee, Wisconsin employer health plans: what they cost and who gets paid
Updated plan year 2024, the most recent complete year
203 employers in Milwaukee, Wisconsin filed health plans with 100 or more participants for plan year 2024, covering 398,058 participants. They reported $159M in insurance premiums and $18M in broker commissions and fees. Against 2023, premiums were down 8.8% and broker pay fell 5.6%.
Funding: 29 fully insured · 96 self-funded · 78 mixed. 174 of 203 plans pay at least some medical claims from the employer's own assets.
Largest employer health plans in Milwaukee
Milwaukee employers reporting the most insurance premium across every Schedule A contract, with what they paid brokers.
| Employer | Premiums | Broker pay | Participants | Top broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern Mutual Field Associations | $126,872,459 | $30,000 | 9,173 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Inc. | $12,459,692 | $267,180 | 878 | Christopher Noffke |
| Wec Energy Group, Inc. | $4,502,763 | $761,252 | 6,968 | OneDigital |
| Fiserv Solutions, LLC | $3,549,034 | $459,752 | 26,720 | Aon |
| Corporate Group, Inc. | $2,227,722 | $29,281 | 375 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Sensient Technologies Corporation | $1,693,825 | $30,958 | 1,554 | Hays Companies |
| Michael Best & Friedrich LLP | $1,238,003 | $167,870 | 653 | The Horton Group |
| Artisan Partners Holdings LP | $1,155,763 | $182,295 | 583 | Acrisure |
| Discovery Energy, LLC dba Rehlko | $479,174 | — | 2,584 | — |
| Zywave, Inc. | $342,191 | $35,687 | 569 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Herzing University, LTD | $304,103 | $93,737 | 608 | Marsh McLennan Agency |
| Komatsu Mining Corp. | $270,495 | $200,451 | 9,908 | Willis Towers Watson |
| G I Associates LLC | $253,277 | $45,246 | 284 | Medical Management Benefits |
| Milwaukee School of Engineering | $249,423 | $14,216 | 336 | Zimdars Company Inc |
| Madison Medical Affiliates | $211,920 | $180,175 | 238 | Milwaukee Brokerage Employee Ben in |
| Horizon Home Care & Hospice, Inc. | $192,010 | $22,933 | 224 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Milwaukee Electronics Corporation | $176,997 | $25,037 | 352 | Willis Towers Watson |
| Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C. | $174,916 | $63,645 | 278 | Lockton |
| Rite-Hite Holding Corporation | $173,853 | $95,151 | 2,207 | Acrisure |
| Eppstein Uhen Architects, Inc. | $169,274 | $115,008 | 251 | Watchtower Technologies Inc |
| Inland Companies dba Colliers Wisconsin | $167,497 | $18,171 | 156 | Jennon Caruth |
| Valuation Research Corporation | $147,759 | $90,293 | 250 | Hays Companies |
| ST. Augustine Preparatory Academy, Inc. | $142,239 | $95,968 | 245 | The McClone Agency Inc. |
| BHP, Inc. dba Global Power Components | $141,708 | $90,263 | 227 | Cyganiak Planning Inc |
| Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin | $140,706 | $103,048 | 251 | Willis Towers Watson |
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 Milwaukee employers, with the number of employer plans naming each broker.
| Broker | Commissions + fees | Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Willis Towers Watson | $3,273,066 | 27 |
| Mercer | $2,449,967 | 8 |
| Lockton | $911,308 | 10 |
| Marsh McLennan Agency | $745,740 | 15 |
| Brown & Brown | $602,646 | 19 |
| USI Insurance Services | $570,394 | 17 |
| Gallagher | $568,646 | 11 |
| Aon | $557,666 | 7 |
| Hays Companies | $521,736 | 16 |
| R & R Insurance Services Inc | $509,267 | 18 |
Largest medical carriers
Medical premium written for these employers.
Milwaukee against Wisconsin 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.
| Milwaukee | Wisconsin | United States | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer plans | 203 | 1,402 | 58,547 |
| Median commission rate | n/a | 2.1% | 3.8% |
| Middle half of rates | n/a | 1.6% – 3.1% | 2.7% – 5.0% |
| Median broker pay per employer | $39,687 | $42,793 | $72,628 |
| Medical premium per covered person | n/a | $7,247 | $7,274 |
| Plans reporting no commission | 2 | 4 | 933 |
Year over year. In plan year 2023, 193 Milwaukee employers reported $175M in premiums and $19M in broker pay for 397,999 participants; in 2024 it was $159M and $18M for 398,058 participants (premiums −8.8%, broker pay −5.6%).
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 Milwaukee employers pay health insurance brokers?
203 Milwaukee employers reported $18,373,643 in broker commissions and fees on their 2024 Form 5500 filings, 188 of them disclosing at least some compensation. Too few fully insured medical plans in Milwaukee reported premium to compute a stable commission rate; the Wisconsin median is 2.1% and the U.S. median is 3.8%. In dollars, the median Milwaukee employer that disclosed broker pay reported $39,687.
Which Milwaukee employers have the largest health plans?
By insurance premium reported for 2024, Northwestern Mutual Field Associations ($127M), Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Inc. ($12M), Wec Energy Group, Inc. ($4.5M) lead. 25 Milwaukee employers are listed on this page; every employer in the record has its own page.
Which brokers and carriers are paid the most in Milwaukee?
By compensation reported by Milwaukee employers, the largest brokers are Willis Towers Watson ($3.3M, 27 plans), Mercer ($2.4M, 8 plans), Lockton ($911,308, 10 plans). By medical premium, the largest carriers are Bluecross Blueshield of Illinois, Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation, Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company.
Are Milwaukee employer health plans self-funded or fully insured?
Of 203 Milwaukee employer plans, 29 are fully insured, 96 are self-funded and 78 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 Wisconsin
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