Highlights for Children, Inc.
Updated Filing received by DOL
Highlights for Children, Inc., an information & publishing employer in Columbus, Ohio, reported 422 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2025. Its Form 5500 shows $237,290 in insurance premiums across 8 contracts and $32,562 in broker commissions and fees. The plan is self-funded (the employer pays claims itself). The Department of Labor received the filing on July 1, 2026, before the deadline.
Who was paid on Highlights for Children, 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 Highlights for Children, Inc. filed for 2025.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer · Chicago, IL | $24,351 | $447 | $24,798 | 10 |
| First Person, Inc · Indianapolis, IN | $7,772 | $0 | $7,772 | 5 |
| Willis Towers Watson · Chicago, IL | $0 | $0 | $0 | 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. Where Part I rows added up to more than the contract's Schedule A total, they were scaled down to that total. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Dental of Ohiodental | 538 | $237,290 | $7,203 | 3.0% |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americalife | 393 | — | $16,942 | — |
| Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.vision | 255 | — | $3,700 | — |
| Telus Health LTDcoverage not coded | 410 | — | — | — |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americalong-term disability | 222 | — | $3,370 | — |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americacoverage not coded | 393 | — | $1,305 | — |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americashort-term disability | 3 | — | $11 | — |
| Life Insurance Company of North Americashort-term disability | 13 | — | $31 | — |
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 Highlights for Children, 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 | 418 | 422 | +1.0% |
| Premiums filed | $250,024 | $237,290 | −5.1% |
| Broker commissions + fees | $34,332 | $32,562 | −5.2% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highlights for Children, Inc. Employee Benefit Plan#501 · insurance, general assets | December 31, 2025 | July 1, 2026 | before deadline | 422 |
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 Highlights for Children, Inc. pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2025?
Highlights for Children, Inc.'s 2025 Form 5500 reports $32,562 in broker commissions and fees across 8 insurance contracts ($32,076 in commissions, $486 in fees), with Mercer receiving the largest share.
Is Highlights for Children, Inc.'s health plan self-funded or fully insured?
The 2025 filing indicates the plan is self-funded (the employer pays claims itself).
How does Highlights for Children, Inc.'s broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for Highlights for Children, Inc. 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.