One company name, several different workforces.
- Salaried office and title staff next to hourly maintenance techs
- Agents whose status needs its own review
- Properties spread across rating areas
- Commission and bonus pay that changes year to year
- Hiring and reductions that follow the housing market
A brokerage might employ an office manager, transaction coordinators and marketing staff while its agents work under independent contractor agreements. A property management company adds managers, leasing staff and maintenance techs spread across buildings in different cities. A title or escrow office looks more like a professional firm, with salaried officers and processors.
Sometimes the same owners hold all three. Related businesses can then count as one employer, agent status still has to be settled on its own, and staffing rises and falls with listings and closings. A plan sized for last spring may not fit next winter.
Where we start with a brokerage or property company.
Draw the employee line first.
Payroll staff go on the census. Agents get their own review.
Office staff, property managers, maintenance techs and escrow staff on payroll form the starting census. A 1099 alone doesn't decide whether an agent is an employee, so have your employment or tax adviser look at the actual working relationship before anyone is promised a seat on the plan. For a qualifying 1099 agent group, we can also review the Nationwide level-funded group medical option using a separate contractor roster.
Match networks to the properties.
Field staff need care near where they live and work.
Small-group rates vary by geographic area, and Washington has nine rating areas. Networks vary even more. A plan that suits the downtown office can leave a maintenance tech two counties away without convenient in-network clinics, so we check networks against census home ZIPs first. Our service area pages cover the regional picture.
If staff are spread widely, an ICHRA can set classes by rating area with different allowances, so each person shops plans that work locally.
Fit income protection to variable pay.
Commission and bonus pay test a disability policy's definitions.
For life and disability, read three definitions closely: covered earnings, whether commissions and bonuses count, and the occupation definition used to decide whether someone can work. Then check benefit limits and exclusions. A title officer, a leasing agent and a maintenance tech can need different answers.
Build the exit process before a slow market.
Reductions are when paperwork slips.
When staffing drops, coverage ends, notices go out and elections need tracking. We coordinate a third-party COBRA administrator for the notices and elections, and vendor fees may apply. Your part is sending termination details promptly. Your admin removes departing employees in Employee Navigator, and we make the carrier changes. More on COBRA administration.
Renew in the quiet months, enroll before the spring market.
Late summer: map the business.
List each entity, its owners and who works for which one. Keep agents on a separate list.
Early fall: build the census.
Payroll employees only, with dates of birth, home ZIPs and coverage tiers, plus where field staff report.
Fall: quote and compare.
Group medical from Premera Blue Cross, Regence BlueShield, Asuris Northwest Health, Kaiser Permanente and UnitedHealthcare, level-funded options where underwriting allows, and an ICHRA model if staff are widely spread.
Winter: decide and enroll.
Winter is often the quieter stretch for residential teams. We hold office sessions in person around Puget Sound, live virtual sessions for property staff and one-on-one calls, at no extra fee for client teams.
Spring and after: keep changes current.
New hires, terminations and status changes go into Employee Navigator as they happen, so nothing piles up once the market picks up.
Send this, and we can start.
Entity and ownership list
Every company in the group and who owns it, so the employer counts come out right.
Employee census
Payroll employees only, with dates of birth, home ZIPs and coverage tiers. Start from the census page.
Agent list, kept apart
Agents and their current status, held off the census until classification is settled.
Property locations
Where field staff report each day, so networks can be checked against real addresses.
Current plan and renewal
Your summary of benefits and coverage and renewal notice, or a note that this is a first plan.
Staffing outlook
Planned hires, likely reductions and any new entity you expect to open this year.
A medical benefits path for your 1099 agent team.
For qualifying agency groups, we can review a Nationwide level-funded medical option for 1099 agents. Bring the brokerage structure, agent affiliations, any office employees and participant locations so the proposal addresses the business you actually operate.
What brokers and property owners ask.
We own a brokerage, a property management company and an escrow office. Are they one employer?
They may be. Companies under common ownership are combined for the ACA employer-size test, and affiliated companies count as one employer for Washington small-group purposes. Have your tax adviser confirm how the ownership rules apply to your structure.
Illustrative: an 18-person brokerage that shares owners with a 40-person management company could be counted together at 58. If all 58 are full-time, that is over the 50 line, even though neither company is there on its own.
How do we enroll maintenance staff who never come to the office?
Go to them. We meet crews at a property in person around Puget Sound, run live virtual sessions they can join from the field anywhere in the state, and take one-on-one calls. Enrollment itself runs through Employee Navigator, so nobody has to drive to the main office to sign up.
Can salaried title staff and hourly maintenance techs get different employer contributions?
With an ICHRA, yes. Salaried and non-salaried employees are permitted classes, and allowances can differ by class. If you keep the group plan for one class and give the other an ICHRA, the ICHRA class has to meet a minimum size: 10 employees for an employer with fewer than 100. For differences inside a group plan, we confirm what the carrier allows before you set them.
Where these rules come from.
IRS guidance on common-law employees and ALE status. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner on small business health plan options. HealthCare.gov on individual coverage HRAs. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Show us how the business fits together.
Send the entity list, an employee census and your current renewal. We'll sort the coverage paths, check networks against your properties and quote the options. No obligation.