2019 was a year of expansion. We deepened our data, broadened our coverage, and launched capabilities that our users had been requesting since day one.
What We Shipped
Life and disability benchmarking — Medical has always been our core, but benefits packages are about more than health insurance. This year we added basic life, STD, and LTD to the platform, giving you a more complete picture of employer offerings.
Contribution strategy tracking — We expanded how we capture employer contributions beyond simple dollar amounts. We're now tracking salary banding, wellness-based incentives, tobacco surcharges, and spousal surcharges—the mechanisms employers use to vary costs based on behavior and circumstances.
Expanded geographic coverage — We added meaningful coverage in 15 new states, bringing our total to 43 states with reliable benchmarking data.
Enhanced filtering — New filter options let you build more precise peer groups. Compare against employers your size, in your industry, in your region—all at once. Crossing 15,000 active plans early in the year meant we finally had the density to make granular filtering meaningful.
By the Numbers
- Over 20,000 verified plans in the dataset
- 43 states with active coverage
- 3 new plan types added (basic life, STD, LTD)
- Consultant user base grew 60% year-over-year
Highlights
Watching consultants use Bnchmrk to win new business never gets old. This year, we heard story after story of advisors walking into prospect meetings with data their competitors couldn't match. One consultant told us she closed three new clients in a single quarter by leading with Bnchmrk benchmarking in her pitch.
That's why we built this. Not for the technology itself, but for moments like that.
Looking Ahead to 2020
We're entering 2020 with momentum. The roadmap includes:
- Coverage in all 50 states
- New plan types (stop-loss is on the list)
- Enhanced reporting and visualization
- Continued investment in data validation
The foundation is set. Now we build on it.
Thank you for a great year.
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