VSVS Health Benefits
Group Health Insurance by Industry

Group health insurance, by what you actually do

Contractors, janitorial crews, fleets, restaurants, retail floors and clinics all buy the same product and run into completely different problems doing it. Pick your trade below, or start with the thing most owners get wrong.

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Small business team meeting

The thing most owners get wrong

Your trade does not raise your health premium.

Owners in high-hazard trades routinely assume group health is priced out of reach for them, because that is exactly how workers’ compensation works — class code, claims history, experience mod. Small-group health insurance does not work that way. Under the ACA, a plan for a group of 1 to 50 in Florida can be priced on five things only: employee age, geographic rating area, family size, tobacco use, and the plan selected. Industry, injury rate and prior claims are not permitted rating factors. An excavation crew and an accounting office of the same ages in the same county pay the same rate for the same plan.

What genuinely does change by trade is eligibility — who counts, when they count, and how you handle people who are not W-2. That is where the money and the compliance risk actually sit, and it is what each page below covers.

Find your trade

Construction contractors General, excavation, bridge and tunneling. Mixed W-2 and 1099 crews, seasonal headcount, and the Davis-Bacon fringe credit on public work. See plans and costs → Janitorial and cleaning High turnover and variable hours are the real problem, not price. Waiting periods and the ACA lookback are what make these groups workable. See plans and costs → Trucking companies and fleets Reefer, flatbed, dump, oilfield and drayage. For long-haul the network matters more than the premium. See plans and costs → Retail stores and chains Single store or twelve. Rating areas follow each employee ZIP, and participation is measured across the whole group. See plans and costs → Restaurants and food service Tipped wages, part-time rules and the ACA lookback, plus what turnover really does to your renewal. See plans and costs → HVAC companies Roughly $350 to $650 per employee per month. Certified techs are the hardest hires in the trades to keep. See plans and costs → Roofing companies Rated on your crew, not your loss runs. Comp pays for the fall off the roof and nothing else. See plans and costs → Daycare and childcare centers Thin margins, high turnover, mostly female staff. Four ways to offer coverage without breaking tuition. See plans and costs → Auto repair shops A physical trade with a small W-2 crew. Usually a straightforward group case once eligibility is set. See plans and costs → Dental offices and practices Small teams, owner-dentist options, and how to cover an associate without blowing the budget. See plans and costs → Salons, spas and barbershops Booth renters, commission stylists and W-2 staff each need a different answer. Often not a group plan at all. See plans and costs → Real estate brokerages Agents are 1099, so a group plan usually is not the answer. Subsidies on net commission income often are. See plans and costs → General contractors and CM firms Your subs are not your employees. The group is the office - PMs, estimators, supers - and that is an easier case than owners expect. See plans and costs → Structural steel and erection Prevailing-wage fringe credits, multi-state crews, and why a high hazard class does not raise the medical rate. See plans and costs → Concrete contractors Headcount that swings with the pour schedule, bilingual enrollment, and the waiting period that keeps a plan alive through a season. See plans and costs → Foundation, piling and shoring Small specialist crews where one departure stops production. High wages make the affordability math easy. See plans and costs → Excavation and site prep Half construction, half transportation. Your operators hold CDLs, which puts the DOT physical inside your benefits decision. See plans and costs → Demolition contractors Where OSHA respirator and silica medical surveillance meets the health plan, and what a small demo crew actually costs. See plans and costs → Tunneling and boring Very small crews working three states from the office. National PPO access is a requirement, not a preference. See plans and costs → Bridge and heavy civil You already fund benefits through the Davis-Bacon fringe. Paying it into a plan instead of cash lowers payroll tax and comp basis. See plans and costs → Pipeline contractors Spreads that assemble, travel and disperse. Cover a defined continuing core rather than every hand on the job. See plans and costs → Industrial maintenance and turnarounds Surge staffing makes you the trade most likely to trip the variable-hour rules and cross 50 FTEs without noticing. See plans and costs → Refrigerated trucking Produce lanes leave the state. A reefer fleet needs national PPO reach and remote enrollment that actually works. See plans and costs → Heavy haul and oversize An older specialist census costs more - and those are the drivers you cannot replace in a quarter. See plans and costs → Oilfield trucking Headcount follows rig count. Build the plan around the core you will keep in a downturn, not the peak roster. See plans and costs → Dump truck and aggregate fleets A small W-2 core inside a fleet of leased owner-operators. Home-daily drivers can use a cheaper regional network. See plans and costs → Last-mile delivery fleets The youngest and cheapest census in transportation - and the one most likely to cross 50 FTEs without realising. See plans and costs → Freight brokers and 3PLs A young sales floor competing against megabrokers that lead with benefits. Cheaper to cover than owners assume. See plans and costs → Janitorial and building services Part-time hours, the ACA lookback, and the FPL affordability safe harbour that low-wage employers should be using. See plans and costs → Industrial and plant cleaning Respirator clearance, confined space, and plant contracts that increasingly specify contractor benefits. See plans and costs → Multi-location retailers Every store rated on employee home ZIPs, and commonly owned entities aggregated for the 50-employee test. See plans and costs → Shipyard and marine trades Longshore Act coverage is not health insurance and does not replace it. Here is what it actually leaves uncovered. See plans and costs →

What changes by trade, and what does not

Four questions decide almost every small-group design, whatever the industry:

1. What will it cost per employee? Roughly $350 to $650 a month for employee-only in 2027, usually split with the employee. Level-funded often lands 10 to 30 percent under that for a healthier group. Run your own numbers first. Open the calculator → 2. Am I required to offer anything? Only at 50 or more full-time equivalents. Below that there is no federal mandate and no Florida mandate — but common ownership across entities can push you over the line without you noticing. Check the threshold → 3. What about my 1099 people? Group plans cover W-2 employees only. An ICHRA reimburses individual premiums tax-free instead, which reaches subs, leased operators and booth renters a group plan cannot. How ICHRA works → 4. Group, level-funded or ICHRA? Fully insured is simplest. Level-funded can refund unused claims if your group runs healthy. ICHRA hands the choice to employees and caps your cost. They suit different teams. Compare the three →

Frequently asked

Does my industry affect my group health insurance premium?

No. For a group of 1 to 50 employees, the ACA allows premiums to vary only by employee age, geographic rating area, family size, tobacco use and the plan selected. Industry, injury rate and prior claims are not permitted rating factors. This is the opposite of workers' compensation, which is priced on your class code and claims history.

How much does group health insurance cost per employee?

In 2027 a typical employee-only group plan runs roughly $350 to $650 per month, usually split between employer and employee. Level-funded plans often come in 10 to 30 percent below that for a healthier group. Your actual number depends on the ages of your team, your county and the plan you choose.

How many employees do I need to offer a group plan?

In Florida the small-group market covers employers with 1 to 50 employees, so you can set up a group plan with as few as one W-2 employee besides the owner. Carriers generally require that a minimum share of eligible employees participate and that the employer contribute at least half of the employee-only premium.

Can I cover 1099 subcontractors on my group plan?

No. Group plans cover W-2 employees. 1099 subcontractors buy individual coverage, though they can deduct premiums against net self-employment income. Some employers use an ICHRA to reimburse individual premiums tax-free instead, which reaches people a group plan cannot.

Do health insurance contributions count toward Davis-Bacon fringe requirements?

Yes. Bona fide health insurance contributions count toward the fringe obligation on federally funded work rather than being paid out as cash. Credit is subject to annualization, meaning it is based on the effective annual rate of contributions across all hours worked, both Davis-Bacon and non-Davis-Bacon.

Am I required to offer health insurance to my employees?

Only if you average 50 or more full-time equivalent employees. Below that threshold there is no federal mandate and no Florida state mandate. Most small employers offer coverage because of hiring and retention, not because they have to.

Tell us your headcount and we will price it

Send your employee count and ages and we come back with real numbers from every major carrier — not a range, your range. Carriers pay our commission, so this costs you nothing either way. Licensed in 40+ states, based in Miami, bilingual.

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