Group health insurance for small business
Group Health Insurance for Small Businesses
Champion’s Pride Insurance Services gets your small business group health quotes from those of our 29 carriers that write small groups in your state, then puts them side by side. We start from one employee census, handle the paperwork once you choose, and work with employers by phone or video anywhere and in person in Missouri.
CPIS at a glance
Carriers we quote across
29
Employer benefits brokerage since
1997
We meet employers by
Phone or video
The basics
What Group Health Insurance Is, and Who It Is For
Group health insurance is a health plan an employer sets up for its employees, in place of each person buying coverage alone. The business chooses the plan and decides how much of the premium it pays. Employees who are eligible can enroll.
Group health insurance for a small business is often called small group health insurance. In Idaho, Kansas and Missouri, a small employer has between 2 and 50 eligible employees, and each state counts those employees a little differently. The cards further down show how, with a link to each state’s page.
This page is for
- Owners setting up a first group health plan
- Employers with a renewal coming who want to compare carriers
- Businesses in Idaho, Kansas, Missouri and other states
Own an LLC or S corp and need coverage yourself? See health insurance for LLC and S corp owners.
What CPIS does
What CPIS Does for Your Group
Champion’s Pride Insurance Services is an independent employer benefits brokerage. We have been in business since 1997 and work with 29 carriers.
Your quotes start with a census, which is a plain list of your employees: names, dates of birth, zip codes, and whether each person is covered alone or with family. Nothing medical is asked.
Moving from another broker? A one-page broker-of-record letter names us as the broker for your group, so carriers will quote and talk with us about it. On its own, the letter does not change your plan.
Five things we do
- Collect one census, so you fill out one list for every carrier
- Request quotes from those of our 29 carriers that write small groups in your state
- Build one side-by-side of premium, deductible, network and what changes for your employees
- Handle the paperwork, whether you switch carriers or stay
- Explain the plan to your employees and support enrollment, then stay your point of contact through the plan year
We talk by phone, Google Meet or Zoom from anywhere. Missouri employers can also meet us in person.
2027 rates
What 2027 Small Group Rates Look Like
Idaho small group premiums are up about 12% on average for 2027, according to the Idaho Department of Insurance 2027 rate release as reported by BoiseDev on October 8, 2026.
In Missouri and Kansas, carriers’ public filings show preliminary 2027 small group increases in the double digits for several carriers: 12.61% to 17.23% across four insurers in Missouri, and 9.61% to 13.39% across three insurers in Kansas, as reported by The Beacon on August 6, 2026. These figures come from the carriers’ own public filings and say nothing about which carriers CPIS works with.
The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance said in July 2026 that final 2027 rates were expected by October 31, 2026.
If your renewal is coming up, our group health insurance renewal guide explains what to do.
Inside a plan
What Is in a Group Health Plan
Every quote you compare is built from the same few pieces. Some you choose and some the carrier sets.
- Premium: The monthly cost of the plan for your group, shown in every quote.
- Employer contribution: The share of the premium your business pays, which you choose, though carriers may set minimums that we can explain.
- Deductible: What an employee pays for covered care before the plan starts paying its share.
- Network: The doctors and hospitals the plan has contracts with, which can differ if you change carriers.
- Copays and prescriptions: What an employee pays at a doctor visit and at the pharmacy.
- Dependents: Whether spouses and children can join and how your contribution applies to them, which each plan decides.
Which plan or plans to offer, and how much of the premium to pay, are your decisions. We show the choices side by side and you decide.
Small group rules
How Idaho, Kansas and Missouri Define a Small Group
Sources: Idaho Department of Insurance, Group Health Insurance; Kansas statutes K.S.A. 40-2209d and 40-2209p; Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance Bulletin 15-04. Rules can change, so confirm the details with us before you rely on them.
Idaho
A small employer has 2 to 50 eligible employees, most of them working in Idaho. An eligible employee works 30 or more hours a week, or 20 by agreement.
Kansas
A small employer has at least 2 and no more than 50 eligible employees on at least half of its working days in the preceding year, most of them employed in Kansas. An eligible employee has a normal work week of 30 or more hours.
Missouri
A small employer averaged at least 2 and no more than 50 eligible employees over the prior calendar year, and has at least 2 employees on the first day of the plan year.
Based in another state? Call us and ask about your group.
Beyond health
The Other Group Benefits We Quote
The same census is the starting point for the rest of a benefits package, with salaries added if you want disability or salary-based life quoted. Each line has its own page.
We look at how the lines work together, including who pays for each one (the employer or the employee), who is eligible, and when enrollment happens. To see the whole picture, read what a small business benefits package includes.
Renewals
Already Have a Group Plan?
The same process works at renewal. We read your renewal letter with you, request quotes from other carriers, and handle the renewal paperwork whether you switch or stay. Our group health insurance renewal guide walks through each step.
If you want to keep your current carrier, we can still work the renewal with you. Quotes from other carriers help you know whether staying is the right call, and you decide.
Your carrier sets the date your enrollment paperwork is due before your new plan year starts. Ask us for it.
Where we work
Where We Work, and Who You Talk To
Our office is in Columbia, Missouri, and Missouri employers can meet us in person. Employers anywhere can work with us by phone or video. We have pages for the rules in Idaho, Kansas and Missouri, and our Areas We Serve page lists the places we work.
Tim Williams founded Champion’s Pride in 1997 and is its president. Our team works from Missouri, Montana and Nebraska. Meet the team.
Ready when you are
What Happens When You Call
A CPIS benefits specialist answers Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM, and talks with you by phone or video. Tell them how many people work for you and whether you have a group plan today. They will tell you what we need to start quotes.
Want to read first? See the renewal guide, the benefits package page, or the team.
Have these ready
- Your employee count
- Your current plan summary, if you have one
- The benefits you want quoted