Bernauer Insurance Agency
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For Businesses

Group Health Insurance

Employee benefits for small and mid-sized Minnesota businesses.

Often what decides whether a good employee stays. The market moves every year.

In Minnesota

A group plan can start on the first of any month, and the month you start becomes your renewal month. Minnesota's small-group special open enrollment, November 15 to December 15, is the one window where the participation thresholds are waived — for coverage effective January 1.

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Written by Pat Bernauer, licensed Minnesota insurance agent (NPN 32897) · Reviewed by Spencer Bernauer (NPN 18100632) · Updated

How we can help

Tell us your headcount and your renewal date and we will tell you what is realistic before you commit to anything.

  • Quote fully insured, level-funded and ICHRA against each other rather than assuming one of them.
  • Show what a change costs your employees, not only what it costs the company.
  • Run the enrollment meetings and handle the carrier paperwork.
  • Come back to it before each renewal instead of letting it roll.

You’ll work with Pat or Spencer directly. Whoever quotes it is the person who answers when you call about it later.

Call Pat · 952-457-5894Start the form

We’ll come back to you quickly, and it costs you nothing either way.

Small group special open enrollment — 2027 coverage

For small employers. Group plans can start on the first of any month, and the month you start becomes your renewal month. This is the one window in the year when carriers must issue a plan for January 1 without the usual participation and contribution minimums.

Enroll between:
November 15, 2026 and December 15, 2026
Coverage starts:
January 1

A group plan can start on the first of any month — there is no open enrollment to wait for — and the month you start becomes your renewal month from then on, so a plan that begins September 1 renews every September 1. This window is the exception worth knowing: coverage effective January 1 without having to hit the usual participation and contribution thresholds. If employees on a spouse's plan are what keeps you under the participation line, this is your month.

All Minnesota enrollment dates →

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More about Group Health Insurance

Most groups accept whatever increase their carrier sends and move on. We market your group to competing carriers, model what a plan design change would actually do to your costs and your employees' out-of-pocket exposure, and give you real options instead of a single number.

  • Fully insured group medical plans
  • Level-funded and self-funded options
  • ICHRA and individual-coverage strategies
  • Group dental and vision
  • Renewal marketing to competing carriers
  • Contribution and plan design modeling
  • Employee enrollment support and questions

How much you contribute, and toward which tier, changes both your cost and your participation rate. There is usually a smarter structure available than a flat percentage. We will model a few against your actual census.

If you have a handful of employees, you are not limited to one product. Depending on your size and situation, level-funded plans, association options, or an ICHRA that reimburses employees for individual coverage may cost less than a traditional group plan. Since we also write individual and MNsure business, we can compare those honestly rather than steering you.

Minnesota health insurance, explained

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