Northwest Natural Gas Co
Updated Filing received by DOL
Northwest Natural Gas Co, an utilities employer in Portland, Oregon, reported 2,053 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2025. Its Form 5500 shows 9 insurance contracts with no premium reported and $35,053 in broker commissions and fees. The plan is a mix of insured and self-funded coverage. The Department of Labor received the filing on June 30, 2026, before the deadline.
Who was paid on Northwest Natural Gas Co's plan
Schedule A, Part I lists each broker or agent paid on each insurance contract and the amount. Totals below add every contract Northwest Natural Gas Co filed for 2025.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parker Smith & Feek Inc. · Bellevue, WA | $0 | $35,053 | $35,053 | 5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliance Standard Life Insurance Companylife | 2,153 | — | $11,360 | — |
| Reliance Standard Life Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 1,268 | — | $1,470 | — |
| Reliance Standard Life Insurance Companylife | 656 | — | $13,766 | — |
| Reliance Standard Life Insurance Companylong-term disability | 1,255 | — | — | — |
| Canopy Eapcoverage not coded | 1,301 | — | — | — |
| Oregon Dental Servicedental | 456 | — | — | — |
| Regence Bluecross Blueshield of Oregonhealth, vision, prescription drug, PPO | 422 | — | $6,048 | — |
| Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwesthealth, dental, vision, prescription drug, HMO | 401 | — | — | — |
| Reliance Standard Life Insurance Companycoverage not coded | 579 | — | $2,409 | — |
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 Northwest Natural Gas Co 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 | 2,171 | 2,053 | −5.4% |
| Premiums filed | $0 | $0 | not comparable |
| Broker commissions + fees | $5,761 | $35,053 | +508.5% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Natural Gas Co Cafeteria Plan#507 · insurance, general assets | December 31, 2025 | June 30, 2026 | before deadline | 2,053 |
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 Northwest Natural Gas Co pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2025?
Northwest Natural Gas Co's 2025 Form 5500 reports $35,053 in broker commissions and fees across 9 insurance contracts ($0 in commissions, $35,053 in fees), with Parker Smith & Feek Inc. receiving the largest share.
Is Northwest Natural Gas Co'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 Regence Bluecross Blueshield of Oregon, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest.
How does Northwest Natural Gas Co's broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for Northwest Natural Gas Co 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.