Benefits for trucking and logistics companies whose people are not all in one yard

Ares Benefit Group works with trucking, freight, and logistics companies of about 2 to 50 employees. We compare a group plan, an ICHRA, and a QSEHRA for the employees on your payroll.

How these companies actually staff

• Company drivers and owner-operators are not the same. A company driver who is an employee can be in a group plan or an HRA. A true owner-operator who is an independent contractor is not enrolled as if they were staff. Classification follows IRS rules. If you are not sure, settle that with your tax advisor before we design eligibility.
• Work happens in more than one state. Routes, home terminals, and a driver's home address may not match. An ICHRA, where each employee buys individual coverage where they live, is often a practical comparison to a group plan sitused at the office. SHOP also has official options for businesses in more than one state. See multi-state teams.
• Shop, dispatch, and drivers have different weeks. You can still put everyone in one group plan if that is the better fit. You can also look at ICHRA classes (for example hourly versus salaried, or work location) when the groups should not share one structure.
• Hours and time away from home. Over-the-road schedules complicate appointments; they do not change the federal definition of an employee. If some people are part-time or on-call at the yard, treat part-time eligibility as a design choice.
• Retention is a benefits issue as well as a pay issue. A clear medical, disability, and life offer is one reason a driver or technician stays. We will help you describe it. We will not invent driver-shortage statistics.

Structures we compare for a team this size

For a small trucking or logistics company, the first fork is usually group coverage versus an ICHRA, especially when drivers live or run in more than one state. A QSEHRA can fit when you will not also offer a group plan and you are under the federal size cap.

• 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.

What to send us

A roster of employees (not a list of every truck), home states, terminal or work states, hours, and a clear note on company drivers versus owner-operators. If the company is based in Tampa and runs regional or long-haul, say so.

Tell us about your trucking team

Our agents are licensed in all 50 states.