The letter is on your desk. Your plan renews in a couple of months, the new rates are on the first page, and the number is bigger than the one you budgeted for.
You’re not imagining it, and you weren’t singled out. Right now is the best time to best understand all your options.
What the 2027 numbers say
The Maine Bureau of Insurance approved a 13.5 percent average increase in the small group market for 2027. The carriers had asked for 15.7 percent.
Average is the word to watch. Some groups came in under that and some well over it, depending on plan, carrier and census.
Why “we had a bad claims year” isn’t the explanation
Small group premiums in Maine are filed with and reviewed by the Maine Bureau of Insurance before a carrier is allowed to charge them. Maine law also limits what a carrier may rate on.
Your premium cannot vary by your employees’ health status, by your claims experience, by gender, or by how long you’ve held the policy. It can vary by age, tobacco use and geography.
So when a renewal jumps, it’s some combination of three things. The filed rate increase the Bureau approved. Your employees each being a year older. And changes in who’s enrolled and at what tier, from a new hire, a new baby or a spouse joining the plan.
Last year’s claims aren’t in there. If someone has implied otherwise, that’s worth a conversation.
Maine also merged its individual and small group markets in 2023, so your rates move with a pool that includes individual coverage. The fully insured small group page explains how that works.
What a renewal review looks at
Four things, in this order.
Plan design. Deductible, out of pocket maximum and copay structure drive a large share of your premium, and the plan you bought three years ago may not be the one you’d buy today.
Contribution strategy. Changing what the company pays toward employee-only coverage versus dependents often moves your monthly cost more than changing carriers.
Funding model. Depending on your size and workforce, level funded or a PEO may be worth quoting next to fully insured. With level funded, the company can receive money back at year end if claims come in lower than projected, and surplus terms vary by carrier. With a PEO, you get plan designs and rates a small employer couldn’t get on its own, because of the larger pool.
Carrier changes for the coming year. For 2027, Anthem is discontinuing individual PPO plans on CoverME.gov while continuing to offer PPO coverage to small groups, which matters if any of your employees or their family members also shop individual coverage.
What to send, and what you get back
Request a benefits quote and then send us four things:
- Your renewal letter, all pages
- Your current plan’s summary of benefits and coverage
- Your most recent carrier invoice
- A census with each enrolled employee’s date of birth, home zip code, tobacco use and dependents covered
You get back a written comparison: your renewal exactly as issued, the closest equivalent plans from the other carriers available to you, one or two lower cost designs with the tradeoffs spelled out, and your monthly cost under each contribution split we run. If level funded or a PEO is worth a look for your group, it’s in there with the reasons. If it isn’t, we’ll say so.
Turnaround is generally 2-3 business days.
If your renewal is the best available option, we’ll tell you that. There’s no obligation to move.
Request a quote, send your renewal letter, ideally about 60 days before the renewal date. That leaves room to make any desired changes.