Northwestern University
Updated Filing received by DOL
Northwestern University, an education services employer in Evanston, Illinois, reported 12,195 participants in its health and welfare plans for plan year 2024. Its Form 5500 shows $135M in insurance premiums across 11 contracts and $963,581 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 7, 2025, within the extension window.
Who was paid on Northwestern University's plan
Schedule A, Part I lists each broker or agent paid on each insurance contract and the amount. Totals below add every contract Northwestern University filed for 2024.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer · Chicago, IL | $88,954 | $331,998 | $420,952 | 4 |
| Gallagher · Glendale, CA | $352,099 | $27,953 | $380,052 | 4 |
| Strategic Non-Medical Solutions LLC · Boston, MA | $0 | $161,983 | $161,983 | 3 |
| Health Care Services Corporation · Chicago, IL | $0 | $594 | $594 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Care Service Corporationhealth, dental, prescription drug, HMO | 16,908 | $135M | $332,594 | 0.2% |
| Standard Insurance Companylife, short-term disability, long-term disability | 1,085 | $85,881 | $1,594 | 1.9% |
| Cigna Health and Life Insurance Companyhealth, dental, vision | 192 | — | — | — |
| Dearborn Life Insurance Companyvision, life | 11,661 | — | $119,007 | — |
| Hartford Life and Accidentlong-term disability | 15,902 | — | $39,785 | — |
| The Guardian Life Insurance Company of Americadental | 1,324 | — | $4,719 | — |
| Four Ever Life Ins Cocoverage not coded | 10 | — | $594 | — |
| Symetra Life Insurance Companystop-loss | 9,033 | — | $86,830 | — |
| Bluecross Blueshield of Illinoishealth, prescription drug, PPO | 1,444 | — | $348,205 | — |
| The Guardian Life Insurance Company of Americadental | 838 | — | $29,850 | — |
| Eyemed Vision Care on Behalf of the Fidelity Security Life Ins. Co.vision | 849 | — | $403 | — |
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 Northwestern University 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.
Premium per covered person on medical contracts: $7,997 a year (national median $7,274).
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 | 11,768 | 12,195 | +3.6% |
| Premiums filed | $79,210 | $135,291,785 | not comparable |
| Broker commissions + fees | $595,163 | $963,581 | +61.9% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern University Employee Welfare Benefit Plan#575 · insurance, general assets, trust | December 31, 2024 | October 7, 2025 | within extension | 12,195 |
| The Northwestern University Postdoctoral Benefit Program#530 · insurance | December 31, 2024 | October 2, 2025 | within extension | 1,008 |
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 Northwestern University pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2024?
Northwestern University's 2024 Form 5500 reports $963,581 in broker commissions and fees across 11 insurance contracts ($441,053 in commissions, $522,528 in fees), with Mercer receiving the largest share.
Is Northwestern University'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 Health Care Service Corporation, Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Bluecross Blueshield of Illinois.
How does Northwestern University's broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for Northwestern University 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.