Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership
Updated Filing received by DOL
Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership, a manufacturing — metal, equipment, transportation employer in Sullivan, Illinois, reported 1,068 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2025. Its Form 5500 shows 5 insurance contracts with no premium reported and $218,943 in broker commissions and fees. The plan is self-funded (the employer pays claims itself, with stop-loss coverage from Reliastar Life Insurance Company). The Department of Labor received the filing on June 11, 2026, before the deadline.
Who was paid on Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership's plan
Schedule A, Part I lists each broker or agent paid on each insurance contract and the amount. Totals below add every contract Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership filed for 2025.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holmes Murphy · Des Moines, IA | $103,887 | $10,150 | $114,037 | 4 |
| Avant Specialty Benefits · Waukee, IA | $992 | $74,604 | $75,596 | 4 |
| Umr Inc · Wausau, WI | $0 | $28,318 | $28,318 | 1 |
| Reed Headley Schnittker · Plano, TX | $496 | $0 | $496 | 1 |
| Weston Bryan · Plano, TX | $496 | $0 | $496 | 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.
| Carrier · coverage | Covered | Premium | Broker pay | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln National Life Insurance Companylong-term disability | 598 | — | $49,070 | — |
| Lincoln National Life Insurance Companylife | 1,046 | — | $70,630 | — |
| Vision Service Planvision | 735 | — | $2,145 | — |
| Reliastar Life Insurance Companystop-loss | 712 | — | $95,114 | — |
| Principal Life Insurance Companylong-term disability | 5 | — | $1,984 | — |
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 Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership 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 | 1,181 | 1,068 | −9.6% |
| Premiums filed | $65,260 | $0 | — |
| Broker commissions + fees | $174,813 | $218,943 | +25.2% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hydro-Gear Health and Welfare Plan#502 · insurance, general assets | December 31, 2025 | June 11, 2026 | before deadline | 1,068 |
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 Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2025?
Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership's 2025 Form 5500 reports $218,943 in broker commissions and fees across 5 insurance contracts ($105,871 in commissions, $113,072 in fees), with Holmes Murphy receiving the largest share.
Is Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership's health plan self-funded or fully insured?
The 2025 filing indicates the plan is self-funded (the employer pays claims itself, with stop-loss coverage from Reliastar Life Insurance Company).
How does Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership's broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership 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.