First Student, Inc.
Updated Filing received by DOL
First Student, Inc., a transportation — truck & rail employer in Cincinnati, Ohio, reported 50,432 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2025. Its Form 5500 shows $1.4M in insurance premiums across 19 contracts and $430,419 in broker commissions and fees. The plan is a mix of insured and self-funded coverage. The Department of Labor received the filing on July 22, 2026, before the deadline.
Who was paid on First Student, 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 First Student, Inc. filed for 2025.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fidelity Health Insurance Services · Boston, MA | $407,729 | $1,000 | $408,729 | 11 |
| HUB International · Cincinnati, OH | $12,944 | $1 | $12,945 | 8 |
| Lifetime Benefit Solutions, Inc · Cobleskill, NY | $5,782 | $0 | $5,782 | 2 |
| Fidelity Healh Insurance · Boston, MA | $2,963 | $0 | $2,963 | 1 |
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, Part I (broker commissions and fees), plan year 2025, as published in EBSA's 2025 "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.
Source: DOL Form 5500 Schedule A, plan year 2025. Self-funded medical coverage has no premium; amounts shown for it are stop-loss or administrative contracts.
How First Student, 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
| 2024 | 2025 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | 48,286 | 50,432 | +4.4% |
| Premiums filed | $1,888,272 | $1,380,496 | not comparable |
| Broker commissions + fees | $414,678 | $430,419 | +3.8% |
| Commission rate | — | — | — |
Source: DOL Form 5500 filings for plan years 2024 and 2025.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firstgroup America, Inc. Health & Welfare Plan#501 · insurance, general assets | December 31, 2025 | July 22, 2026 | before deadline | 50,432 |
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 First Student, Inc. pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2025?
First Student, Inc.'s 2025 Form 5500 reports $430,419 in broker commissions and fees across 19 insurance contracts ($429,418 in commissions, $1,001 in fees), with Fidelity Health Insurance Services receiving the largest share.
Is First Student, Inc.'s health plan self-funded or fully insured?
The 2025 filing indicates the plan is a mix of insured and self-funded coverage. Medical coverage is written by Health New England, Inc., Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, Independent Health Association.
How does First Student, Inc.'s broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for First Student, Inc. because the filing does not report medical premium on Schedule A (usual for self-funded plans). In dollars, employers with 5,000+ participants that disclosed broker pay reported a median of $458,262.
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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.