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Benefits for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies that run service trucks

A service company in the trades lives on the trucks. Technicians spend the day in other people's buildings. A dispatcher, an estimator, and an owner may be the only people who sit still. On-call nights and weekend emergency work are part of the job, not a special event. Benefits have to make sense for people who are rarely in one clinic's parking lot from 9 to 5.

All industries

Ares Benefit Group works with HVAC, plumbing, and electrical companies of about 2 to 50 employees. We compare a group plan, an ICHRA, and a QSEHRA against your actual roster — licensed techs, helpers, warehouse or stock people, and the office.

How these shops actually staff

  • Field and office are two rhythms. Technicians, installers, and apprentices are on job sites or service calls. Office staff may be in one location. An ICHRA's work-location and hourly-versus-salaried class rules can be useful when those groups should not be forced into the same structure. A single group plan can still be the better fit when everyone lives in the same area and you want one plan.
  • Licensed people are hard to replace. A clear benefits offer is one of the ways a 10- or 20-person shop holds a lead technician. We will help you describe the offer plainly. We will not invent turnover statistics for the trades.
  • Helpers, apprentices, and part-time hours. Not everyone on the truck is full-time. Eligibility for part-time staff should be a conscious choice, including whether a QSEHRA will exclude part-time or seasonal employees, which the federal rules allow.
  • 1099 versus W-2. Some shops use true subcontractors for overflow. Some treat people as contractors who may be employees under IRS classification rules. Group coverage, ICHRAs, and QSEHRAs are for employees. We design for the W-2 team and will not use a benefits plan to paper over a classification question. For a longer discussion, see contractors and construction.
  • A service area that crosses county or state lines. A Tampa shop may already roll trucks into neighboring counties, or send an install crew out of state. Bring those locations. See multi-state teams.

Structures we compare for a team this size

For a typical trades shop in this size range, the useful comparison is usually a group plan versus an ICHRA, with a QSEHRA in the mix if you do not want to sponsor a group plan.

  • SHOP and other group coverage, when you want one employer-sponsored medical plan and you can meet eligibility and participation rules.
  • A level-funded arrangement, when a carrier offers one for your census. We compare it with fully insured group coverage. We do not treat either as automatically better.
  • An ICHRA, when you want a set contribution and employees choose individual coverage. Classes can be used, within federal rules, for full-time and part-time staff, hourly and salaried people, work locations, or a waiting period. It is for employees, not for a self-employed owner.
  • A QSEHRA, when you are not an applicable large employer and you are not offering a group health plan. Annual contribution caps are set by the IRS. See ICHRA vs QSEHRA if both appear to be on the table.
  • Section 125 for pre-tax employee premium contributions on a group plan. A QSEHRA cannot be funded by salary reduction.
  • Group life and disability and voluntary benefits, designed alongside medical coverage rather than as an afterthought.

There is no federal requirement that a company under 50 full-time employees, including full-time equivalents, offer health coverage. If you have fewer than 25 full-time equivalents and you meet the wage, contribution, and SHOP rules, you may also want to look at the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.

Recruiting and keeping technicians

If you are hiring against other contractors, "we offer benefits" is not enough. Say who is eligible, what you contribute, when coverage starts, and how on-call or overtime hours affect eligibility if they do. If you use a waiting period through a slow season, say that too.

What to send us

A current list of employees, licenses or roles, hours, and the counties or states where you actually work. Note anyone you treat as a subcontractor rather than staff.

Tell us about your trades team

Ares Benefit Group LLC
5701 E Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL 33610
(813) 540-1299
admin@aresbenefitgroup.com

Our agents are licensed in all 50 states.

Frequently asked questions

Can I offer one arrangement to technicians and another to office staff?

Sometimes. An ICHRA may be offered by permitted class, including hourly versus salaried and work location. You generally cannot offer a group plan to one class and an ICHRA to another in a way that breaks the ICHRA rules; we will check that before you commit. A QSEHRA, if you use one, is generally offered on the same terms to all eligible employees.

Our apprentices are in school part of the week. Do they count?

Hours still count toward full-time and full-time-equivalent tests. Bring their actual hours. Eligibility can be designed; the counting rules are not optional.

We are a union and a non-union shop, or we bid both.

Collective bargaining status is a permitted ICHRA class. If health benefits were bargained, a QSEHRA may also exclude that group. Tell us what is already in the agreement.