A Guide to Group Health Insurance Renewals for Florida Employers: 90-Day Timeline & Checklist

In short: A Florida small employer (1–50 employees) should start the group health insurance renewal process about 90 days before the plan’s effective date — larger groups should start earlier. Florida law requires an insurer to give at least 45 days’ notice of a rate change (30 days for an HMO), and many carriers send renewals sooner, so plan on the new rates arriving somewhere between 60 and 45 days out (as late as 30 for an HMO). Starting at 90 days gives you time to pull your current plan data and a clean employee census, market the group with a broker across fully-insured and level-funded options, decide, run open enrollment, and submit completed enrollment before the carrier’s deadline.

Key Takeaways

• Start at 90 days out, and expect new rates by 45 (30 for an HMO). Begin your renewal prep about 90 days before your effective date. Florida law requires at least 45 days’ notice of a rate change from an insurer (30 from an HMO), and many carriers send renewals sooner, so expect the new rates between 60 and 45 days out (as late as 30 for an HMO). Larger groups should start earlier.
• Florida small groups renew on their anniversary month, not on a single January 1 date; there’s no universal employer open-enrollment window the way there is for individual marketplace coverage.
• A clean employee census optimizes your quotes. Date of birth, tobacco status, and dependents drive a carrier’s pricing, and home ZIP helps it check network fit.
• Renewal is when you can switch carriers or plan structures — including fully-insured versus level-funded — as long as you meet the new carrier’s participation rules.
• 2026 renewals are running high: Florida’s approved 2026 small-group rate increases averaged 12.8% by membership, according to Florida OIR’s 2026 small-group filings.
• The Brevard carrier landscape shifted for 2026: Aetna exited the fully-insured 1–50 market and Health First Health Plans isn’t a small-group option until a planned 2028 return, while newer, tech-forward carriers — with Angle Health a leading example — are gaining traction with innovative cost-containment models.

One note on what this is: general guidance for Florida small employers (1–50 employees), not legal, tax, or compliance advice. The compliance items here are real, but confirm the specifics for your business with your broker or advisor. If you already have a broker, confirm this list matches their process — carrier deadlines and document requirements vary.

How far in advance should a Florida employer start renewal?

Start about 90 days before the plan’s effective date, and start earlier for larger groups. Many carriers release renewal pricing about 60 days before the effective date, but Florida law requires only 45 days’ notice of a rate change (30 for an HMO), so the latest a rate change can reach you is 45 days out for an insured plan, or 30 for an HMO. Florida small-group plans renew in the employer’s anniversary month, not on one national January 1 date. That runway leaves time to compare carriers and run enrollment.

One Florida-specific point worth knowing: small-group plans renew on your anniversary month, not on a single national date. If your plan started July 1, you renew July 1. There’s no universal open-enrollment window for employer groups the way there is for individual marketplace coverage.

If a traditional group plan isn’t the right fit, one alternative worth knowing about is an ICHRA (Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement): instead of sponsoring a group plan, you reimburse employees for individual coverage they buy on their own — reimbursements are generally tax-free when the arrangement is properly structured. It’s a different model with its own rules and timing — ask your broker whether it fits your group.

For a team of one to nine employees, our Florida health insurance guide for 1–9 employees covers the participation rules and reimbursement options that matter at this size.

Work the checklist top to bottom across seven steps. Each step lists the days-out range, so you always know whether you’re on schedule.

Step 1 — Pull Your Current Plan Data (Days 90–85)

You can’t evaluate a renewal you can’t see clearly, so Step 1 is gathering the documents that describe what you have today: your current plan documents, a clean employee census, and a claims utilization report. (Your carrier’s renewal notice with new rates comes later. Florida law requires it at least 45 days out, and many carriers send it around 60, so you’ll fold it in during the market check in Step 3.)

Gather Your Current Plan Documents

1. Pull your current Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) for every plan you offer
2. Find your current rate sheet (premiums by coverage tier or by age bands)
3. Note your current effective date and renewal date

Download a Clean Employee Census

An employee census is the roster of data that lets a carrier quote your group accurately — without it, no one can give you real numbers. It captures each enrolled employee’s date of birth, home ZIP code, tobacco status, and dependents. Age, tobacco use, and who is covered are the individual factors a carrier may rate on (the rating area comes from your business address), and home ZIPs help the carrier check network and service-area fit.

1. Build a census with each enrolled employee’s date of birth, home ZIP code, tobacco status, and dependents (ages)
2. Mark each person’s current coverage tier (employee only, employee + spouse, family, etc.)
3. Flag anyone waiving coverage and note why (covered elsewhere, spouse’s plan, etc.)

Pull Your Claims Utilization Report from the Carrier Portal

A claims utilization report tells you why your renewal looks the way it does — and whether a different plan structure might fit you better. One important caveat: detailed claims/utilization data is generally only available to level-funded (and self-funded) small groups. If you’re fully insured, your carrier typically won’t share group-level claims experience, so this step may not apply to you — your broker can confirm what’s available. If you can get it, pull the most recent summary before you market the group.

1. Log into your carrier or broker portal and download the most recent claims/utilization summary available to you (typically level-funded/self-funded groups)
2. Note your loss ratio if it’s shown (claims paid vs. premium collected)
3. Flag any large claims or high-utilization trends your broker should know about

Step 2 — Evaluate What’s Working (Days 85–75)

Before you market the group, decide what you’re actually trying to fix. Step 2 scores your current plan on cost, network, and satisfaction; reviews participation and headcount; and checks your contribution against ACA affordability.

Score Your Current Plan on Cost, Network, and Employee Satisfaction

1. Rate your current plan on total cost (premium + your contribution + employee out-of-pocket)
2. Rate the network — are your employees’ doctors and the major Brevard health systems in-network?
3. Gauge employee satisfaction (complaints about claims, access, or cost are signals)

Review Participation Rates and Note Any Upcoming Headcount Changes

1. Confirm your participation rate still meets your carrier’s minimum
2. Note expected hires, departures, or seasonal swings in the coming year
3. Flag anyone aging into Medicare or any major demographic shifts

Check Your Employer Contribution Strategy Against ACA Affordability (9.96% for 2026 Plan Years)

For plan years beginning in 2026, employer-sponsored coverage counts as “affordable” when the employee’s share of the lowest-cost self-only premium doesn’t exceed 9.96% of their household income (measured in practice against an IRS safe harbor). This matters most if you’re an applicable large employer; smaller employers below 50 full-time-equivalents aren’t subject to the mandate, but the benchmark is still a useful gut check.

1. Calculate the employee’s share of the lowest-cost self-only plan
2. Confirm it lands within the 9.96% affordability threshold (if you’re an ALE)
3. Decide whether your contribution split still reflects what you want to offer your team

Step 3 — Run a Market Check With Your Broker (Days 75–60)

Florida employers can switch carriers or change plan structures at renewal, as long as they meet the new carrier’s enrollment and participation rules — and a broker quotes multiple carriers and structures from a single census. Changing structure often means pricing a level-funded plan against your fully insured renewal. This is where a local broker earns their keep.

Give Your Broker an Updated Census (Ages, ZIPs, Tobacco Status, Dependents)

With a complete census, a broker can typically return carrier quotes within days, depending on how many carriers and structures you’re comparing. Hand off the clean census you built in Step 1 along with your current plan and current rates so your broker can start marketing the group right away. Your carrier’s renewal offer often arrives about 60 days out (Florida law requires at least 45), so forward it the moment it arrives to keep the comparison apples-to-apples.

1. Hand off the clean census you built in Step 1, plus your current plan and current rates, so your broker can start marketing the group.
2. Review your renewal with your broker as soon as it arrives (Florida law requires rate-change notice at least 45 days out) so the comparison is apples-to-apples.
3. State your goals (hold cost flat, improve network, add a richer option, etc.)

Request Quotes on at Least Two Plan Structures — Fully Insured vs. Level-Funded

Request quotes on at least two plan structures so you can compare the traditional fully-insured model against level-funded side by side. In a fully-insured plan the carrier holds the risk for a fixed premium; in a level-funded plan you pay a fixed monthly amount covering estimated claims, administration, and stop-loss insurance, and you can receive a year-end refund when claims come in low.

Fully insured vs. level-funded — comparison:

• Ask for a fully insured quote (the traditional model — fixed premium, carrier holds the risk)
• Ask for a level-funded quote if your group is a fit (medically underwritten, and some carriers offer it to very small groups)

Whether level-funded is right for you depends on your group’s profile, so have your broker model both side by side.

Florida Small-Group Rate Context: What to Expect in 2026

Peterson-KFF’s analysis of proposed 2026 rates from 318 small-group insurers across all 50 states and D.C. found a median proposed increase of 11%, with 68% of insurers requesting increases between 5% and 15%. Those were proposed rates, which can change before approval. In the filings it reviewed in detail, insurers commonly estimated underlying medical trend at about 9% and cited rising medical costs, the cost of GLP-1 medications (Ozempic, Wegovy and similar), and other very high-cost specialty drugs as drivers of higher premiums. Your specific number depends on your group’s age, location, and claims — which is exactly why pulling your own data first (Step 1) pays off.

Brevard County Carrier Landscape (Florida Blue, UnitedHealthcare, FHCP — and the Planned 2028 Health First Return)

For Brevard County small groups in 2026, the active fully-insured carriers include Florida Blue, UnitedHealthcare, and Florida Health Care Plans (FHCP). The table below sorts who writes 1–50 plans here from the carriers that look available but aren’t.

Brevard small-group carrier landscape, 2026:

A few important caveats your broker will walk you through:

• Aetna exited Florida’s fully-insured small-group (1–50) market effective January 1, 2026. If you were on Aetna, you’ve already needed to move — though Aetna Funding Advantage (level-funded) remains available.
• Cigna and Humana are commonly named in generic comparison articles but do not appear on Florida’s official 2026 small-group carrier list for fully-insured 1–50 plans. Don’t assume they’re an option without broker confirmation.
• Health First Health Plans — the dominant local Brevard health system — is not a small-group option for 2026, but has announced a planned return to the Brevard small-group market in 2028, pending state approval.

Beyond the traditional fully-insured carriers, a newer set of tech-forward, level-funded carriers is gaining traction with Florida small employers through innovative cost-containment models. Angle Health is the clearest example — a digital-first carrier that sells a level-funded plan to groups as small as 5 — and we’re also seeing interest in Sidecar Health and Curative. Because these sit on the level-funded (not fully-insured) side of the market, they won’t appear on Florida’s fully-insured small-group carrier list, and whether one fits depends on your group’s size and health profile.

How a renewal offer stacks up against the rest of the market is a question worth answering before you sign. Marketing a group across carriers and structures is the work we do every week, and it starts with one conversation.

Start your renewal market check

Step 4 — Make Your Plan Decision (Days 60–45)

By Days 60–45 you compare your proposals on the factors that actually hit your team’s wallet — not just the headline premium — and lock your final selection.

Compare Proposals on Total Cost, Deductible, Network Breadth, and Rx Formulary

Compare proposals on total annual cost, deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, network breadth, and the Rx formulary. The 2026 ACA out-of-pocket cap is $10,600 individual / $21,200 family, so any compliant plan tops out there.

• Compare total annual cost (premium + expected employer contribution)
• Compare deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums (the 2026 ACA cap is $10,600 individual / $21,200 family)
• Compare network breadth — confirm key Brevard providers and hospitals are in-network
• Compare the Rx formulary — check that your team’s regular and specialty medications are covered

Decide on Contribution Strategy — What You’ll Cover vs. What Employees Pay

1. Set the employer contribution by tier (and confirm it meets carrier minimums)
2. Re-check ACA affordability if you’re an ALE
3. Model the per-paycheck employee cost so there are no surprises at enrollment

Choose Plan Structure(s) — Single Plan or Dual-Option

1. Decide on a single plan or a dual-option (e.g., a richer plan plus a lower-cost HDHP)
2. Confirm any second plan still meets participation rules
3. Lock your final plan selection with your broker

Step 5 — Run Open Enrollment (Days 45–30)

Open enrollment runs Days 45–30: distribute the SBC, send required annual notices, collect a signed election or waiver from every eligible employee, and walk your team through what’s changing. If your renewal arrives late, close to the legal minimum of 45 days (30 for an HMO), there’s no room left for a market check before this window, so ask your broker to request it from the carrier by Day 60 and be ready to compress enrollment.

Distribute Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) to All Eligible Employees

• Provide the updated SBC for every offered plan to all eligible employees

Send Required Annual Notices

Depending on your plan and group size, a Florida employer’s open-enrollment packet commonly includes the annual Medicare Part D creditable-coverage and CHIP premium-assistance notices, plus the COBRA general notice (due within 90 days after coverage starts, for plans under federal COBRA) and the HIPAA special-enrollment notice, which are tied to when someone joins the plan, not to each renewal. Which ones apply depends on your specifics.

• Medicare Part D creditable (or non-creditable) coverage notice
• CHIP premium assistance notice
• COBRA general/initial rights notice (if applicable to your group size)
• HIPAA special enrollment rights notice

Which notices apply to you depends on your specifics — confirm your list with your broker or compliance advisor.

Set Enrollment Window and Collect Signed Elections or Waivers from Every Eligible Employee

• Set a clear enrollment window with a firm deadline
• Collect a signed election or waiver from every eligible employee (waivers matter for participation)

Hold an All-Hands Meeting or 1:1s to Walk Through Plan Changes

• Schedule a group meeting or 1:1 sessions to explain what’s changing
• Walk through cost changes, network changes, and any new options
• Make sure employees know who to ask with questions (often your broker)

Step 6 — Submit and Confirm (Days 30–15)

Days 30–15 are about getting completed enrollment to the carrier by its deadline and confirming the money lines up.

Submit Completed Enrollment to the Carrier by the Deadline

• Submit all completed enrollment forms by the carrier’s deadline (confirm the exact date with your broker — it’s tied to your renewal/effective date)

Confirm Premium Amounts and Set Up Billing

• Verify the final premium matches the approved proposal
• Set up or confirm billing/payment with the carrier

Collect Any Required Dependent Documentation

• Gather dependent verification (marriage/birth certificates) if the carrier requires it

Step 7 — Wrap Up Before Your Effective Date (Days 15–0)

In the final stretch, confirm ID cards are on track, update payroll deductions, and brief employees on using their new plan before the effective date.

Confirm ID Cards and Welcome Packets Will Arrive Before Your Effective Date

• Confirm ID cards and welcome materials are on track (typically within ~10 business days of the carrier processing enrollment)

Update Payroll Deductions for the New Plan Year

• Update payroll deductions to the new per-paycheck amounts on the first applicable pay period

Brief Employees on How to Use Their New Plan

• Remind employees about ID cards, telehealth, and PCP assignment (especially if you moved to an HMO)
• Share member-portal sign-up instructions

ACA Compliance Items to Check Off Alongside Renewal

These ACA compliance items run in parallel with renewal — ALE status, 1095-C furnishing, and ERISA document currency. They’re general reminders, not legal advice; confirm the specifics for your business.

ALE Status — Confirm Whether You Have 50+ Full-Time Equivalents

• Count your full-time-equivalent (FTE) employees. In Florida, 1–50 = small group for the fully-insured carrier market; at 50+ FTEs you’re an applicable large employer (ALE) subject to the ACA employer mandate
• If you’re an ALE, confirm your offer meets affordability (9.96% for 2026) and minimum value

1095-C Furnishing Deadline (Early March Each Year for the Prior Coverage Year)

• If you’re an ALE, furnish Form 1095-C to full-time employees by the IRS furnishing deadline for the prior coverage year (January 31 plus an automatic 30-day extension, which lands in early March; it was March 2, 2026 for the 2025 coverage year). Recent rules also let you make forms available on request with proper notice, so confirm your method with your advisor.

ERISA Plan Document and SPD Currency

• Confirm your ERISA plan document and Summary Plan Description (SPD) are current and reflect this year’s plan

Printable Checklist Summary (One-Page Reference)

Days 90–85 — Pull data

• Current plan documents: SBCs, rate sheet, effective date
• Clean employee census (DOB, ZIP, tobacco, dependents, tier, waivers)
• Claims/utilization report from carrier portal (level-funded/self-funded groups)

Days 85–75 — Evaluate

• Score current plan: cost, network, satisfaction
• Review participation + headcount changes
• Check contribution vs. ACA affordability (9.96% for 2026)

Days 75–60 — Market check

• Census + current plan/rates to broker with goals
• Renewal offer to broker when it arrives (often ~Day 60; required by Day 45, Day 30 for an HMO)
• Quotes on ≥2 structures (fully insured + level-funded)
• Review 2026 rate context + Brevard carrier landscape

Days 60–45 — Decide

• Compare cost, deductible, network, Rx formulary
• Set contribution strategy
• Choose single vs. dual-option; lock selection

Days 45–30 — Open enrollment

• Distribute SBCs
• Send Part D, CHIP, COBRA, HIPAA notices (as applicable)
• Collect signed elections/waivers from everyone
• Hold employee meeting(s)

Days 30–15 — Submit

• Submit enrollment by carrier deadline
• Confirm premium + billing
• Collect dependent documentation

Days 15–0 — Wrap up

• Confirm ID cards/welcome packets
• Update payroll deductions
• Brief employees on using the plan

Compliance (parallel)

• ALE check (50+ FTEs?)
• 1095-C by early March (ALEs, prior coverage year)
• ERISA plan doc + SPD current

Download the printable checklist (PDF) — one page · free · no email required.

Working With a Local Broker vs. Going Direct — What Changes

Going direct means you see one carrier’s offer and handle the market check, comparison, and compliance tracking yourself, while a broker markets the group across multiple carriers and structures from a single census. A broker also flags the caveats — like Aetna’s 2026 exit, or which carriers actually write 1–50 plans in Brevard — and keeps the open-enrollment notices and deadlines on track, typically at no added cost to you, since broker compensation is generally built into carrier rates either way.

The local part matters here. A Brevard-based broker knows which networks actually include the providers your employees use on the Space Coast, and works your renewal on your anniversary date rather than treating you like a January-1 national account. That’s the model behind group benefits for Florida small employers at ThirdWave Benefits, and it is the same ground we cover in small business health insurance in Brevard County.