University of Southern California
Updated Filing received by DOL a plan year 2025 filing was received February 24, 2026 for 1 of this employer's 4 plans; this record moves to 2025 when all have arrived
University of Southern California, an education services employer in Los Angeles, California, reported 23,634 participants in its health and welfare plans for plan year 2024. Its Form 5500 shows $344,862 in insurance premiums across 22 contracts and $2.2M 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 13, 2025, within the extension window.
Who was paid on University of Southern California's plan
Schedule A, Part I lists each broker or agent paid on each insurance contract and the amount. Totals below add every contract University of Southern California filed for 2024.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottingham & Butler Insurance Servi · Dubuque, IA | $1,627,048 | $223,884 | $1,850,932 | 6 |
| Gallagher · Chicago, IL | $287,813 | $2,271 | $290,084 | 9 |
| Alliant Insurance Services · Boston, MA | $69,184 | $3,654 | $72,838 | 2 |
| Varies - See Attached · Columbia, SC | $6,599 | $86 | $6,685 | 1 |
| Mercer · New York, NY | $0 | $0 | $0 | 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. 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.
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 University of Southern California 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
| 2023 | 2024 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participants | 22,394 | 23,634 | +5.5% |
| Premiums filed | $340,239 | $344,862 | not comparable |
| Broker commissions + fees | $2,076,743 | $2,241,874 | +8.0% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Southern California Insured Group Plan#521 · insurance | December 31, 2024 | October 13, 2025 | within extension | 23,634 |
| University of Southern California Group Health and Dental Plan#520 · general assets | December 31, 2024 | October 13, 2025 | within extension | 22,715 |
| Keck Medicine of Usc Community Employee Health & Welfare Benefit Plan#528 · insurance | December 31, 2024 | October 13, 2025 | within extension | 1,096 |
| University of Southern California Postdoctoral Scholar Benefit Program#501 · insurance | July 31, 2025 | February 24, 2026 | before deadline | 470 |
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 University of Southern California pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2024?
University of Southern California's 2024 Form 5500 reports $2,241,874 in broker commissions and fees across 22 insurance contracts ($2,013,477 in commissions, $228,397 in fees), with Cottingham & Butler Insurance Servi receiving the largest share.
Is University of Southern California'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 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc, Blue Cross of California, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
How does University of Southern California's broker compensation compare with similar employers?
A commission-to-premium ratio cannot be computed for University of Southern California 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.