Employee benefits with heart

If you’re asking this question, you are most certainly not alone! A benefits broker helps your organization choose and manage health insurance and other employee benefits. We shop the market for you, compare plans and costs, and help you find coverage that fits both your budget and your people. Then we stick around to help with enrollments, answer questions, and support your employees when something comes up.

At Blackbird, we do this work with a special focus on equity and access. We challenge the systems that cause harm, advocate for our clients' needs, and are committed to making sure that every employee, no matter who they are, experiences the respectful, safe support they deserve. We are true strategic partners, growing alongside the organizations we serve, and we hold trust as the foundation of everything we build, inside and outside our walls.

Benefits are one of the biggest investments you make in your people, and they're also one of the most complicated. Without a broker, it's usually up to your HR or operations team to compare plans, keep up with compliance, and help employees sort out confusing bills or denied claims, often on top of everything else they're doing. A broker takes that on for you, so your team gets expert support and your employees have someone in their corner. Even if you already use an HR platform or a PEO, those tools handle the paperwork, not the people. We work alongside them to make sure your plans actually fit your team and that someone's there when questions come up.

Like most insurance brokers, our compensation comes from the insurance carriers themselves, not directly from you. In small group plans, 3 to 5 percent is already built into the premium. So you’re paying the same amount whether you have the support of a broker or not. And while our pay comes from the carriers, we won't push whichever plan pays us the most. Some of the biggest carriers in the region aren't ones we recommend because their plans fall short on women's health and LGBTQIA+ care. We're driven by our values, not what's most profitable, and we believe that's actually better for our business overall.

It’s usually pretty simple actually. We’ll just have you sign a Benefits of Record Letter (BOR), and then we’ll be able to get started right away. There is no change or disruption to your current coverage. This letter just lets us step in as your point of contact with your carriers.

Anytime works, but the ideal runway is six months before your plans renew. That gives us time to review how your current plans are working, shop the market, and talk through options without rushing. If your renewal is sooner than that, or you just need better support right now, reach out anyway. Switching brokers doesn't change your current coverage, so we can start helping you and your employees right away.