Claires Stores, Inc.
Updated Filing received by DOL
Claires Stores, Inc., a retail — stores, food, auto, clothing employer in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, reported 2,998 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2024. Its Form 5500 shows 14 insurance contracts with no premium reported and $132,518 in broker commissions and fees. The plan is a mix of insured and self-funded coverage. The Department of Labor received the filing on October 22, 2025, before the deadline.
Who was paid on Claires Stores, 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 Claires Stores, Inc. filed for 2024.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer · Chicago, IL | $113,800 | $11,938 | $125,738 | 15 |
| Marsh McLennan Agency · San Juan, PR | $6,343 | $0 | $6,343 | 1 |
| Benefit Communications, Inc. · Nashville, TN | $296 | $0 | $296 | 2 |
| Cottingham and Butler · Dubuque, IA | $83 | $0 | $83 | 2 |
| Christopher Robert Morris · Nashville, TN | $25 | $0 | $25 | 2 |
| Charles D. Block · Wilmington, NC | $17 | $0 | $17 | 1 |
| James H. Van Epps · Roswell, GA | $17 | $0 | $17 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 373 | — | $900 | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.health, dental, prescription drug, HMO | 26 | — | — | — |
| Metlife Legal Planscoverage not coded | 204 | — | $4,725 | — |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 758 | — | $29,615 | — |
| Metropolitan Life Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 569 | — | $28,720 | — |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americashort-term disability | 1,077 | — | $25,964 | — |
| Provident Life and Accident Insurance Companylife | 28 | — | $374 | — |
| Triple S Salud, Inc.health, dental, prescription drug, PPO | 20 | — | $6,343 | — |
| Vision Service Planvision | 1,104 | — | $15,287 | — |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americalife | 2,514 | — | $16,419 | — |
| Unum Life Insurance Company of Americalife | 2 | — | $13 | — |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americacoverage not coded | 2,514 | — | $2,569 | — |
| Compsych Corporationcoverage not coded | 13,650 | — | — | — |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americashort-term disability | 476 | — | $1,589 | — |
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 Claires Stores, 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.
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 | 4,171 | 2,998 | −28.1% |
| Premiums filed | $0 | $0 | not comparable |
| Broker commissions + fees | $130,066 | $132,518 | +1.9% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claire's Stores, Inc. Employee Health Plan#501 · insurance, general assets | April 30, 2025 | October 22, 2025 | before deadline | 2,998 |
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 Claires Stores, Inc. pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2024?
Claires Stores, Inc.'s 2024 Form 5500 reports $132,518 in broker commissions and fees across 14 insurance contracts ($120,580 in commissions, $11,938 in fees), with Mercer receiving the largest share.
Is Claires Stores, Inc.'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 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Triple S Salud, Inc..
How does Claires Stores, Inc.'s broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for Claires Stores, Inc. because the filing does not report medical premium on Schedule A (usual for self-funded plans). In dollars, employers with 1,000-4,999 participants that disclosed broker pay reported a median of $168,579.
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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.