Health Insurance for the Skilled Trades: What It Really Costs
Owners ask for a number and get a shrug. Here is the range, what moves it, and the four ways to structure coverage for a crew.
What the trades actually pay
Owners ask for a number and get a shrug. Here is the honest version: for a small trade business, employee-only group coverage generally runs $350 to $650 per employee per month before you decide how much of that the company pays.
That range holds fairly steadily across roofing, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, concrete and the rest. Health insurance rates are not set by how dangerous your trade is — that is workers' compensation. They are set by age, location, plan design and, on some plans, the health of the group.
The two numbers that matter
Your share is what the company pays per employee per month. Their share is what comes out of the crew's checks. A plan that looks affordable to you and unaffordable to them will fail on participation, which is where most small-group applications die.
What actually moves your rate
| Factor | Effect | What you can do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Average age of the crew | The single biggest factor in a small group rate | Nothing directly — but it argues for different plan designs at different crew ages |
| Plan design | A higher deductible lowers premium, raises what a sick employee pays | Match the design to how your crew actually uses care |
| Funding type | Level-funded can price below fully insured for a healthy group | Answer the medical questions honestly and compare both |
| ZIP code | Rates and networks vary by county, sometimes sharply | Check that the hospitals your crew would actually use are in network |
| Who enrolls | Participation rules can block the whole application | Count waivers properly before you apply |
General product behaviour. Your carrier's rules and plan documents govern.
Four ways to do it
Fully insured small group. The familiar one. No medical questions, predictable rate for the year, one plan for everyone. In Florida a small employer is 1 to 50 eligible employees and coverage is guaranteed issue, so a small shop cannot be turned away for the health of its people.
Level-funded. You pay a fixed monthly amount that covers expected claims, stop-loss and administration, and a surplus comes back if claims run low. It is medically underwritten, so a young healthy crew often prices below fully insured. How level-funded works in Florida.
ICHRA. You set a fixed monthly allowance, employees buy individual plans and get reimbursed tax-free. No minimum company size, no participation requirement, and the cost line is exactly what you decide it is. 90-day notice is required. The ICHRA guide.
QSEHRA. Same idea for employers under 50 employees, with annual caps — $6,450 self-only and $13,100 family for 2026.
The participation wall
Here is the failure nobody warns small employers about. Most carriers require a share of eligible employees to actually enroll before they will issue a group plan. Trades crews are often young, often already covered on a spouse's plan, and often unwilling to give up $120 a check.
Two things get you through it. First, waivers usually do not count against you when the employee has other coverage — a spouse's plan, a parent's plan under 26, Medicare, TRICARE. Count those correctly before you conclude you cannot qualify. Second, there is a window every year, 15 November to 15 December, when carriers must accept a small group that cannot meet participation or contribution requirements. The window, explained.
The retention math
Benefits are not a moral question, they are a cost comparison. What does it cost you when a licensed tech leaves — the recruiting, the weeks at reduced capacity, the mistakes a new hire makes on somebody's house, the customer who asks why a different person showed up?
Against that, a few hundred a month per employee is usually the cheaper side of the trade. It is also the thing a competitor down the road cannot match by bumping pay fifty cents an hour.
Where benefits do not help: if your pay is genuinely below market, a health plan will not keep anyone. Fix pay first, then benefits win the close ones.
Frequently asked
How much is health insurance for a small trade business?
Employee-only group coverage generally runs about $350 to $650 per employee per month before the employer decides its share. Family tiers cost more. The spread inside that range is driven mostly by the ages on your census and the plan design you choose, not by which carrier's name is on the card.
Do I have to pay the whole premium?
No. Most small employers pay a percentage of the employee-only premium and little or nothing toward dependents. Carriers typically require a minimum employer contribution, commonly around half of the employee-only cost, and Florida law sets no percentage of its own — that is a carrier underwriting rule rather than a statute.
What if half my crew says they do not want it?
That is the participation problem, and it stops more small-group applications than price does. Employees with other coverage, such as a spouse's plan or Medicare, usually count as waivers rather than refusals. There is also a window each year from 15 November to 15 December when carriers must accept a group that cannot meet participation.
Is a health plan really worth it if my competitors do not offer one?
That is exactly the argument for offering one. In trades where every shop pays within a dollar or two an hour of every other shop, benefits are the difference that is hard to match quickly. The honest caveat is that benefits do not fix a pay problem; they win the hire when pay is close.
Can I offer coverage to my licensed techs but not to helpers?
Yes, provided the classes are based on genuine job criteria rather than on anybody's health. Full-time versus part-time, salaried versus hourly, field versus office are all defensible. Picking individuals is not. An ICHRA makes class-based design cleanest, because you set a different monthly allowance per class.
What is the cheapest way to offer something?
Usually a defined contribution rather than a sponsored plan: a QSEHRA if you are under 50 employees, or an ICHRA at any size, where you set a fixed monthly amount and employees buy their own coverage. Dental and vision is the other low-cost starting point, though it is not medical coverage and should never be presented as such.