PlansForSmallBusiness

Renewal season for a small business plan

The annual renewal letter is a decision, not a bill: the five checks a small employer makes each autumn, when switching structures makes sense, and the dates that matter for 2027.

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Licensed Agents in 31 States · NPN #22052447

Most small groups renew by default and absorb the increase. The letter is the one moment each year the whole structure can be rethought at no cost.

Start with your ZIP and your headcount, not with a plan name

A group quote, an ICHRA costing and the owner’s own plan all start from the same census: who is on payroll, their ages and home counties. Enter your ZIP and a licensed agent runs all four routes for your business, free.

Takes about 30 seconds. No account, and you choose how you are reached.

“I run my own business and my time is valuable. Daniel handled everything — compared the private options, explained what I was actually getting, and had me covered fast. Way better experience than trying to navigate it myself.”
Mark T., client

Five checks

  1. The increase against the market: 2027 individual-market rates rose in 23 of the 24 states on this site; group renewals vary by carrier and claims.
  2. Participation: who dropped off, who joined, whether the plan still meets the insurer’s rule.
  3. Network: the hospital your staff actually use, checked against the renewed plan (Plans By City reads the insurers’ files).
  4. The team: new states, new part-timers, a contractor converted to W-2, an owner change.
  5. The credit: did headcount or wages move into or out of Form 8941 range?

When to switch structures

A renewal increase over 10%%, participation slipping, or a team now spread across states are the usual triggers for moving from a group plan to an ICHRA; a business that has grown to 10-20 modestly paid full-timers is the usual trigger for moving from a QSEHRA to a group plan with the credit.

Dates for 2027

Group plans renew on their own anniversary. Employees moving to the individual market under an ICHRA or QSEHRA buy during Open Enrollment (November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027; choose by December 15 for January 1) or within 60 days of losing the group plan. An ICHRA needs its notice 90 days before the plan year.