Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc.
Updated Filing received by DOL
Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc., a manufacturing — metal, equipment, transportation employer in Houston, Texas, reported 1,253 participants in its health and welfare plan for plan year 2024. Its Form 5500 shows $6.8M in insurance premiums across 1 contract and $205,332 in broker commissions and fees, 3.0% of medical premium against a national median of 3.8% among plans that paid commissions in plan year 2024. The plan is fully insured (an insurance carrier pays claims). The Department of Labor received the filing on July 17, 2025, before the deadline.
Who was paid on Whirlwind Steel Buildings 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 Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc. filed for 2024.
| Broker or agent | Commissions | Fees | Total | Contracts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Stuart Leiss · Houston, TX | $107,365 | $0 | $107,365 | 1 |
| USI Insurance Services · Dallas, TX | $71,577 | $19,370 | $90,947 | 1 |
| Truveris Inc · Wilmington, DE | $0 | $7,019 | $7,019 | 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.
| Carrier · coverage | Covered | Premium | Broker pay | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Care Service Corporationhealth, prescription drug, stop-loss, PPO | 1,145 | $6.8M | $205,332 | 3.0% |
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 Whirlwind Steel Buildings 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.
Premium per covered person on medical contracts: $5,914 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 | 880 | 1,253 | +42.4% |
| Premiums filed | $5,162,355 | $6,771,241 | +31.2% |
| Broker commissions + fees | $166,811 | $205,332 | +23.1% |
| Commission rate | 3.2% | 3.0% | −0.2 pts |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whirlwind Steel Buildings 029846#504 · insurance | December 31, 2024 | July 17, 2025 | before deadline | 1,253 |
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 Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc. pay in health insurance broker commissions in 2024?
Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc.'s 2024 Form 5500 reports $205,332 in broker commissions and fees across 1 insurance contracts ($197,582 in commissions, $7,750 in fees), with David Stuart Leiss receiving the largest share.
Is Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc.'s health plan self-funded or fully insured?
The 2024 filing indicates the plan is fully insured (an insurance carrier pays claims). Medical coverage is written by Health Care Service Corporation.
How does Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc.'s broker compensation compare with similar employers?
Whirlwind Steel Buildings Inc. paid 3.0% of medical premium in commissions and fees. The median for employers with 1,000-4,999 participants is 2.0%, and the median in Texas is 5.6%. Percentages are computed only on fully insured medical contracts with filed premiums.
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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.