Hidden commissions to brokers and advisors are an ERISA violation waiting to happen — and lawsuits against employers are climbing fast. Validated Advisors and Validated Firms have been independently confirmed to take zero kickbacks, disclose every dollar, and answer only to you.
Most employers rely on benefits firms to maximize their healthcare spend and meet their ERISA fiduciary duties. The traditional model has three big problems.
Traditional brokers accept undisclosed commissions, bonuses, and overrides from PBMs, carriers, and vendors — the same parties they recommend to you.
When a broker is paid on both sides of a transaction, you're not getting advice. You're getting a sales pitch dressed up in spreadsheets.
ERISA prohibits hiring benefits firms compensated on both sides for consulting and procurement. Health-plan lawsuits against employers are rising exponentially.
They aren't anymore. Group health plans are now squarely in the crosshairs, and 2025 set a record for total filings — with much of the new volume aimed at how plan dollars are managed across PBMs, vendors, TPAs, and advisors.
Plan sponsors are looking for partners that don't add to that risk. Advisors who can prove they manage plan assets in a manner consistent with fiduciary standards — and who have obtained real financial protection for plan sponsors to support that claim — win the business.
Advisors to ERISA plans can't legally serve as plan fiduciaries — but VI-Validated firms operate by the same standards. Our validation tests one thing above all: the absence of conflicts of interest.
The work starts with the client's goals — better outcomes, lower total cost, defensible governance — and the advisor gets paid to find the best way to meet them. That's the entire incentive. There is no second loyalty pulling in another direction.
Where commissions are unavoidable (fully insured programs, voluntary benefits), they must be disclosed and never decisive.
Every validated firm is backed by our ERISA Immunity Guarantee, providing employers with $100,000 to $1,000,000 of coverage. It may also reduce your own insurance premiums.
Learn about the GuaranteeEvery advisor and firm below has been independently tested against our standards for full transparency and zero conflicts.
Validation Institute is a game-changer in benefits, equipping employers with sharp, unbiased insights to sidestep the big publicly traded consultants stuck in outdated strategies. Fiduciary Validation is a game-elevating milestone that deepens my mission to build more effective, trustworthy benefits ecosystems.
Brian UhligSenior Partner, Alera Group
If your firm operates without commission-driven conflicts, validation is how you prove it to employers and stand apart in a crowded market.
Some situations make commission removal impossible. In these narrow cases, validated firms may accept commissions — with required disclosure and conditions.
Carriers set the fee or commission and it can't be stripped from premiums. If your fee exceeds the carrier's payment, credit it toward your total fee (where state law permits). If lower, accept the carrier's payment in full — rebating laws prohibit returning it.
When an employer contributes close to ACA minimums (roughly 50% of the employee-only base plan), the firm may accept commission in lieu of fees so the employer isn't carrying 100% of the cost. Must be disclosed.
Some large-group arrangements don't permit commission removal. Firms may accept the commission in lieu of fees; if your fee exceeds the embedded commission, credit it where state law allows, otherwise disclose.
When taking over from an incumbent via the Broker of Record process, firms may accept compensation from existing vendors through the end of the current plan year. On renewal, all commissions must be removed from health insurance products wherever possible.