| Broker | Address | Carrier | Commissions | Fees | Total comp | % of premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POTOMAC INSURANCE INC3 Filed as: POTOMAC INSURANCE INC. | 15825 SHADY GROVE ROAD SUITE 170 ROCKVILLE, MD 20850 | CAREFIRST BLUE CHOICE | $31K | $32 | $31K | 5.01% |
| GROUP BENEFITS SERVICES INC WHL5 | 6 NORTH PARK DRIVE S 310 HUNT VALLEY, MD 21030 | CAREFIRST BLUE CHOICE | — | $7K | $7K | 1.07% |
| JOSEPH A APPELBAUM3 | 13816 GLEN MILL RD GAITHERSBURG, MD 20850 | THE GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA | $7K | $4K | $11K | 11.42% |
| FINANCIAL BALANCE GROUP LLC3 | 1901 RESEARCH BLVD SUITE 400 ROCKVILLE, MD 20850 | THE GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA | $43 | — | $43 | 0.04% |
No Schedule C service providers reported on this filing.
Benefits declared on the Form 5500 main form (✓ = also has a Schedule A insurance contract; otherwise the benefit is funded out of plan assets or via a Schedule C TPA).
The plan reports several different headcounts depending on which form you read. Each one measures a different slice of the population.
| Active participants | 76 | Currently employed and enrolled or eligible. |
| Total participants (= "Plan participants" tile) | 76 | Active + retired/separated + beneficiaries. No dependents. |
| Coverage | Top carrier | Persons covered EOY | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health (medical) | CAREFIRST BLUE CHOICE | 78 | $611K |
| Dental | THE GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA | 76 | $99K |
| Life insurance | THE GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA | 76 | $99K |
| Short-term disability | THE GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA | 76 | $99K |
| Long-term disability | THE GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA | 76 | $99K |
| Prescription drug | CAREFIRST BLUE CHOICE | 78 | $611K |
| Other | THE GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA | 76 | $99K |
| Persons covered (= "Persons covered" tile) | Max across the rows above | 78 | — |
Why the numbers differ. Form 5500 line 6 counts employees + retirees + beneficiaries; no dependents. Schedule A persons-covered counts everyone enrolled, including spouses and children, so it usually exceeds line 6 by 30-60% on a working-age workforce. The medical row is normally the broadest single line because it has the highest take-up; dental/vision/life often dip below it. Stop-loss / reinsurance contracts sometimes report the carrier's full underwriting pool rather than this filer's headcount; the row is shown for transparency but shouldn't be read as "people in this plan."
Broker compensation exceeds 5% of premium. Either a small-plan minimum-fee dynamic or an inefficient broker structure ripe for a counter-bid.
Top carrier holds >85% of premium. If that carrier hits a rate increase, the entire plan moves.
Premium per covered life exceeds 2× the peer median for this NAICS + size cohort. Either richly-funded plan or struggling with a bad rate.
Schedule A presence shifted between filings (insured ↔ self-funded, or new contracts added/removed). Capture the transition window.