Buzzfeed, Inc.
Updated Filing received by DOL
Buzzfeed, Inc., an information & publishing employer in New York, New York, reported 868 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2024. Its Form 5500 shows $7.4M in insurance premiums across 11 contracts and $210,252 in broker commissions and fees. The plan is fully insured (an insurance carrier pays claims). The Department of Labor received the filing on July 18, 2025, before the deadline.
Who was paid on Buzzfeed, Inc.'s plan
Schedule A, Part I lists each broker or agent paid on each insurance contract and the amount. Totals below add every contract Buzzfeed, Inc. filed for 2024.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer · Minneapolis, MN | $184,131 | $17,909 | $202,040 | 11 |
| Sequoia · San Mateo, CA | $2,913 | $4,333 | $7,246 | 5 |
| Empyrean Benefit Solutions, Inc. · Houston, TX | $0 | $920 | $920 | 2 |
| Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. · Indianapolis, IN | $0 | $46 | $46 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company and Affiliateshealth, prescription drug, indemnity | 918 | $7.4M | $176,668 | 2.4% |
| Cigna Health and Life Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 135 | — | $1,751 | — |
| Cigna Health and Life Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 188 | — | $1,375 | — |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Companydental | 906 | — | $9,201 | — |
| First Unum Life Insurance Companylife, short-term disability, long-term disability | 565 | — | $10,081 | — |
| Ace American Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 559 | — | $1,371 | — |
| Four Ever Life Insurance Companyhealth | 559 | — | $731 | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.health, prescription drug, HMO | 36 | — | $5,640 | — |
| Vision Service Planvision | 506 | — | — | — |
| First Unum Life Insurance Companylife | 103 | — | $649 | — |
| Metropolitan General Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 53 | — | $2,785 | — |
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 Buzzfeed, Inc. 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.
Premium per covered person on medical contracts: $8,084 a year (national median $7,274).
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 | 1,129 | 868 | −23.1% |
| Premiums filed | $0 | $7,421,552 | not comparable |
| Broker commissions + fees | $242,979 | $210,252 | −13.5% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buzzfeed, Inc. Welfare Plan#501 · insurance | December 31, 2024 | July 18, 2025 | before deadline | 868 |
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 Buzzfeed, Inc. pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2024?
Buzzfeed, Inc.'s 2024 Form 5500 reports $210,252 in broker commissions and fees across 11 insurance contracts ($187,044 in commissions, $23,208 in fees), with Mercer receiving the largest share.
Is Buzzfeed, Inc.'s health plan self-funded or fully insured?
The 2024 filing indicates the plan is fully insured (an insurance carrier pays claims). Medical coverage is written by Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company and Affiliates, Four Ever Life Insurance Company, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc..
How does Buzzfeed, Inc.'s broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for Buzzfeed, Inc. because the filing does not report medical premium on Schedule A (usual for self-funded plans). In dollars, employers with 500-999 participants that disclosed broker pay reported a median of $104,902.
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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.