About
We started this because the small-group market treats small employers badly.
A 25-person company gets the same regulatory obligations as a 2,500-person company, a fraction of the buying power, and a broker who shows up once a year with a rate letter. That gap is the entire reason this firm exists.
Our position
Independent, on purpose.
SMB Benefits, LLC is an independent brokerage. We hold partner appointments with Paychex and with competing PEOs, payroll platforms, carriers and recordkeepers. That structure matters: when we recommend a PEO over a re-marketed fully insured plan, it is because your census supports it, not because it is the only thing on our shelf.
We are also honest about what we are not. We are not attorneys, and we do not give tax or investment advice. We are the people who make sure you are buying the right thing at the right price, that it gets implemented correctly, and that somebody picks up the phone in month fourteen when a claim gets denied.
Most of our clients have between 10 and 150 employees. Many are on their first real benefits plan. Almost all of them came to us because something broke — a renewal, a tax notice, a termination that went sideways — and stayed because the fix held.
How we got here
Founded
Started as a two-person benefits agency serving dental and medical practices in the Carolinas.
PEO practice
Added a dedicated PEO practice after watching small groups get crushed by small-group medical renewals.
Partner appointments
Became an authorized Paychex partner alongside appointments with competing PEOs and national carriers.
Today
42 states, 18,000+ lives under management, and a client-retention rate we are quietly proud of.
Team
Small team. Named people.
You will not be routed. These are the three people who will be on your file.
Managing Partner
PEO & benefits strategy
Fifteen years between a national PEO sales desk and an independent employee benefits agency. Handles underwriting negotiation and the cases nobody else wants to quote.
- PEO underwriting
- Level-funded medical
- Multi-state groups
Director of Client Service
Implementation & advocacy
Runs implementation oversight, open enrollment meetings and escalations. The person your controller will actually call.
- Implementation
- Open enrollment
- Escalations
Risk & Compliance Advisor
Workers' comp & HR compliance
Class-code audits, experience-mod projections and the HR compliance calendar. Former carrier-side underwriter.
- Experience mods
- EPLI
- HR audits
Team roles shown are placeholders for launch — swap in real names, headshots and license numbers before going live.
Meet the person who would actually handle your account.
No SDR, no discovery-qualification script. The first call is with the advisor who would run your file.