Brewster Cheese Company
Updated Filing received by DOL
Brewster Cheese Company, a manufacturing — food & textile employer in Brewster, Ohio, reported 377 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2024. Its Form 5500 shows $272,738 in insurance premiums across 9 contracts and $58,280 in broker commissions and fees. The plan is a mix of insured and self-funded coverage. The Department of Labor received the filing on January 5, 2026, before the deadline.
Who was paid on Brewster Cheese Company's plan
Schedule A, Part I lists each broker or agent paid on each insurance contract and the amount. Totals below add every contract Brewster Cheese Company filed for 2024.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schauer Group Inc · Canton, OH | $30,996 | $0 | $30,996 | 1 |
| Huntington Insurance Inc · Columbus, OH | $23,379 | $3,142 | $26,521 | 5 |
| Integrated Employee Benefit Solutio · Iselin, NJ | $405 | $0 | $405 | 3 |
| Erika M Perrin · Hartville, OH | $92 | $0 | $92 | 1 |
| Eisel Solutions LLC · Wooster, OH | $84 | $0 | $84 | 3 |
| Katie D Duer · Wadsworth, OH | $75 | $0 | $75 | 1 |
| Howard B Meszaros · Plain City, OH | $36 | $0 | $36 | 2 |
| Thomas W Boston · Hartville, OH | $34 | $0 | $34 | 3 |
| Val Young · Boise, ID | $15 | $0 | $15 | 1 |
| Dennis N Shay · Westerville, OH | $10 | $0 | $10 | 1 |
| JP Griffeth Enterprises Inc · Boise, ID | $6 | $0 | $6 | 1 |
| Virginia Ayles Kezele · Goodyear, AZ | $3 | $0 | $3 | 1 |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, Part I (broker commissions and fees), plan year 2024, as published in EBSA's 2024 "Latest" dataset. Part I names whoever the carrier paid, which can be a firm or an individual agent; both are public record. Amounts exclude pay from carriers not tied to a listed contract.
Insurance contracts and carriers
Every insurance contract reported on Schedule A: carrier, what it covers, people covered at year end, earned premium, and broker compensation.
| Carrier · coverage | Covered | Premium | Broker pay | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Insurance Companylife, long-term disability | 375 | $272,738 | $17,476 | 6.4% |
| Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co.life, short-term disability, long-term disability | 15 | — | $177 | — |
| Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co.life, short-term disability, long-term disability | 1 | — | $5 | — |
| Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co.life, short-term disability, long-term disability | 6 | — | $280 | — |
| Aultcare Insurance Companyhealth, dental, stop-loss | 334 | — | $30,996 | — |
| American Heritage Life Insurance Companylife, short-term disability, long-term disability | 99 | — | $4,791 | — |
| American Heritage Life Insurance Companylife, short-term disability, long-term disability | 85 | — | $2,289 | — |
| American Heritage Life Insurance Companylife, short-term disability, long-term disability | 41 | — | $1,982 | — |
| American Heritage Life Insurance Companyindemnity | 14 | — | $284 | — |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, plan year 2024. Self-funded medical coverage has no premium; amounts shown for it are stop-loss or administrative contracts.
How Brewster Cheese Company compares
Medians across employers for plan year 2024, the most recent complete year. Commission rates use fully insured medical contracts only; dollar medians use every employer that disclosed broker pay.
Not computable: no insured medical premium on the filing.
Source: BenefitsLedger benchmarks from 58,547 employer health plans with 100 or more participants, plan year 2024. Methodology.
Year over year
| 2023 | 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | 323 | 377 | +16.7% |
| Premiums filed | $197,111 | $272,738 | not comparable |
| Broker commissions + fees | $50,621 | $58,280 | +15.1% |
| Commission rate | — | — | — |
Source: DOL Form 5500 filings for plan years 2023 and 2024.
Filings and timeliness
Plans this employer filed under its EIN with a health benefit code. Large plans are due seven months after the plan year ends, or two and a half months later with an extension; amended filings carry the amendment date, so no timing is asserted for them.
| Plan | Plan year end | Received by DOL | Timing | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewster Dairy Employee Health Insurance Plan#501 · insurance, general assets | June 30, 2025 | January 5, 2026 | before deadline | 377 |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Part I and signature dates; "late" means received after the extended deadline (the 15th day of the tenth month after plan year end). What a late Form 5500 costs.
How much did Brewster Cheese Company pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2024?
Brewster Cheese Company's 2024 Form 5500 reports $58,280 in broker commissions and fees across 9 insurance contracts ($55,138 in commissions, $3,142 in fees), with Schauer Group Inc receiving the largest share.
Is Brewster Cheese Company's health plan self-funded or fully insured?
The 2024 filing indicates the plan is a mix of insured and self-funded coverage. Medical coverage is written by Aultcare Insurance Company.
How does Brewster Cheese Company's broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for Brewster Cheese Company because the filing does not report medical premium on Schedule A (usual for self-funded plans). In dollars, employers with 200-499 participants that disclosed broker pay reported a median of $77,013.
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Record built October 24, 2026 from U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA Form 5500 datasets (2025, 2024, 2023 plan years, 'Latest' files). Filings can run 7 to 10 months behind the plan year; always confirm against current plan documents. BenefitsLedger is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Labor. Open the DOL filing search.