If your employee benefits renewal felt tougher than it should have, you’re not alone.  

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that employer health insurance costs will rise 9.5% in 2026—the steepest increase in 15 years.  

The Business Group on Health is seeing the same trend, with employers expecting 9% higher healthcare and 12% higher pharmacy costs, and actual spend running ahead of forecasts for the second year in a row.  

Our proprietary strategies are helping companies beat the odds. 

In an effort to reduce spend on its medical plan, this large automotive dealer decided to move their medical plan to a Medicare cost plus strategy. Instead of reducing costs, the plan increased costs and resulted in consistent issues with accessing health care services and balance bills.

The ultimate breaking point came when an employee with cancer was scheduled for surgery to have a tumor removed. The day before the surgery, the hospital called and let the employee know the surgery was canceled because the insurance did not have a network.

• Lower employee contributions
• Reduce deductibles to $1,000 in Year 1
• Address large claimants

The new plan resulted in:

• $2,170,000 in savings over the first two year
• Total plan costs down 20% in the first two year
• Employee premiums decreasing by 21.7%
• Deductibles lowered by $5,100

“Controlling costs is very important. The Brown & Brown team has made it a priority to understand our business strategy, and it directly impacts the options they bring to us.”

– Director of Human Resources

“One of the first things we experienced was a huge cost savings. Not only did the employees save, but we saved over $1 million in the first year. Not only have we quadrupled our enrollment, but we’ve also seen flat or negative renewals year-over-year.”

– Senior Vice President of People