Your broker's commission is a hidden tax on your growth. We deleted it.
Traditional brokers are paid by carriers to sell you high premiums. We are paid by you to lower them. Transparent, flat-fee risk management for employers who expect more than a renewal shakedown.
SAIL™ Live · Morbidity Risk
Predicting1.22
22% Above-Average Risk
4.1%
PCP trend
7.9%
No PCP
$5M
3-yr saved
- Years in business
- 19+
- Years industry experience
- 25+
- Offices across the West
- 3
- Flat-fee, transparent pricing
- 100%
Brian Ullrich
Founder & Principal Strategist
Principal Strategy
"We don't sell policies; we engineer financial stability. We use Gradient AI and TOIC analytics to identify cost drivers before they hit your P&L."
Brian Ullrich
Founder · Principal Strategist
Founder-led on every account
No junior handoff. The principal is in the room.
Zero carrier kickbacks
We refuse contingent commissions on principle.
Predictive Intelligence in Action
Forensic-grade data. Built to be inspected.
Two live signals from the EPIQ analytics stack: a SAIL™ morbidity score forecasting the next 12 months, and a trend-rate comparison proving the dollar value of clinical compliance.
Signal 01 · SAIL™ Morbidity Dial
Live1.22
Morbidity Score
Forecast Callout
SAIL Score: predicting 22% above-average morbidity risk for the next 12 months.
- 4-year claims + weighted demographic categories
- Pre-emptive Rx & care management triggers
- 94% forecast accuracy vs. realized claims
Signal 02 · Annual Trend Rate
PCP ComplianceCost trajectory of clinically engaged vs. disengaged populations.
Signal 03 · Macro Plan Performance Review
2026 Report MetricsTotal Claims PEPM — EPIQ Account vs. National Benchmark
Our client's actual spend runs 27% BELOW the national benchmark, saving companies an average of $288 per employee, per month.
While national healthcare trends spike in the 9%–10% range, our data-driven interventions held overall medical claims to a -2% absolute decrease year-over-year.
The Impact · 3-Year Projection
Projected 3-year claims value difference: $4,000,000+
Compounding the 3.8-point trend gap across a typical mid-market book yields a multi-million-dollar swing in PMPY claims spend — money that stays on your P&L instead of going to the carrier.
Or call 866.550.7475
Privacy & Security. All analytics are performed on de-identified data in 100% compliance with HIPAA regulations.
Why EPIQ
Most brokers explain the market. We challenge the model.
Too many employers get the same routine every year: a late renewal, higher numbers, fewer options, and a broker whose compensation is tied to the system they are supposed to question.
EPIQ was built as the alternative. We stripped out hidden carrier overrides, built the model around a flat fee, and stay close enough to the account to tell you what is really driving cost, risk, and employee frustration.
You are not hiring us to “shop the market.” You are hiring us to protect the company, defend every dollar, and solve the issues that keep showing up long after the renewal meeting ends.
More about our approach
Strategy, not chance
What Makes Us Different
Independent, senior-level, and built for the trenches.
Flat-fee means the advice stands on its own.
No hidden carrier money. No quiet overrides. No production bonuses for placing business with the “right” carrier. If we recommend it, it is because we believe it is the right move for the client.
Small on purpose.
You are not buying a national logo and getting handed off to a junior team. You are working with experienced people who know the account, know the numbers, and stay involved when the work gets hard.
We stay between renewals.
Claims disputes, compliance documents, audits, employee issues, midyear changes, funding decisions, renewal strategy — this is where value gets created. We do not disappear after implementation.
Who We Serve
Built for employers with real complexity — not one-size-fits-all plans.
Our core benefits consulting work is centered on employers with roughly 50 to 2,500 employees, especially organizations that have outgrown commodity broker service and need sharper strategy, tighter execution, and more accountability.
We are especially relevant for multi-site employers and organizations operating in healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, dental, and other workforce-driven businesses.
What We Do
Three practice areas. One goal: better decisions under pressure.
Every engagement starts with a conversation, not a quote — and the recommendation follows the facts, not a carrier template.
Predictive Analytics
Our SAIL™ and TOIC engines transform four years of claims data into a forward-looking risk forecast. We identify cost drivers, gaps in care, and high-cost Rx patterns 12 months before they hit your renewal — so we can intervene, not just report.
- SAIL™ predictive morbidity scoring with 94% forecast accuracy.
- Specialty Rx forensic splitting — revealing J-Code pharmacy hidden under medical benefits.
- Forensic stratification: the Top 1% of claimants typically drive 36% of total spend.
Bespoke Employee Benefits
Medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental programs designed around your workforce, claims experience, and economic reality — not a carrier template. Fully insured, level-funded, self-funded, captive, and custom network strategies built to maximize every dollar spent.
- Medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental coverage.
- Fully insured, level-funded, self-funded, captive, and custom network options.
- Plan strategy informed by claims data, demographics, and market analytics.
Strategic Risk Management
We help employers assess what risk belongs on the balance sheet, what should be transferred, and what should be fixed operationally. The objective is straightforward: reduce avoidable exposure, protect continuity, and make risk decisions with eyes open.
- Risk assessments and consulting.
- Guidance on transfer, retention, and mitigation decisions.
- Strategy built around business protection, not generic insurance talk.
The Intelligence Engine
Predictive risk modeling. Not rear-view broker reporting.
Most brokers look at where you've been. We look at exactly where you are going. By leveraging Gradient AI and Cedar Gate analytics, we transform raw data into a tactical advantage for your balance sheet.
SAIL™: Predictive Morbidity Scoring
We utilize a proprietary SAIL (Strategic Analytics & Intelligent Logistics) model to identify future healthcare costs before they hit your renewal. By evaluating four years of claims data against weighted demographic categories, we generate a 12-month risk forecast.
Pre-emptive intervention
High scores indicate predicted risk, allowing us to segment populations and implement care management up to a year in advance.
Morbidity analysis
We distinguish between demographic risk (age/gender) and morbidity risk (health conditions) to understand the “why” behind your cost increases.
Proof Point · SAIL Score
1.22
Morbidity Score
SAIL predicted a 22% above-average morbidity risk for this group. We used the data to implement targeted Rx intervention, protecting the client from a six-figure renewal spike.
Proof Point · PMPY Claims
Data-driven proof: engaging employees in preventive care generates a 13.5% annual cost difference — roughly $5M in claims value over three years for this client.
TOIC: Clinical Compliance & Cost Containment
Our PCP Compliance Analysis identifies the direct correlation between employee health engagement and your bottom line.
Bending the trend line
Employees with annual Primary Care Physician visits experience an annual trend rate of 4.1%, compared to 7.9% for non-compliant members.
Hard dollar savings
On average, spouses with annual PCP visits experience 18.3% lower claims costs.
Closing gaps in care
Our analytics identify exactly how many gaps in care exist in your population, allowing us to target chronic care guidelines and prevent large claims before they happen.
The Savings · Verified
$5.0M
Potential Claims Value identified
Over a 3-year engagement window
Forecast accuracy
94%
SAIL™ vs. realized claims
Trend bent
−3.8 pts
Year-over-year cost trend
Gaps closed
1,200+
Care interventions deployed
Specialty Rx Cost Splitting
Traditional pharmacy reports only capture what is visible on the pharmacy benefit. They completely miss high-cost specialty drugs billed as J-Codes under the medical benefit — masking the true cost of oncology infusions, Humira, Mounjaro, and other physician-administered therapies.
Forensic pharmacy visibility
Our tools reconcile medical and pharmacy claims to expose the full Rx picture — including hidden specialty spend that brokers never surface.
Target expensive therapies at the source
Once identified, we deploy active clinical management guidelines and prior authorization strategies to reduce unit cost and steer toward clinically appropriate alternatives.
Proof Point · Pharmacy Liability
Rx-only benefit capture
Includes medical-benefit J-Codes & specialty infusions
Traditional brokers miscalculate your Rx liability at 21% of your plan spend. Our forensic tools reveal that Medically Administered Rx actually drives pharmacy to 30% of total plan costs — allowing us to target expensive specialty drugs like Mounjaro, Humira, and oncology infusions at the clinical source.
Proof Point · Catastrophic Risk
1%
of the workforce
36%
of total healthcare spend
We utilize active clinical management guidelines to lower high-cost claimant prevalence across focus conditions, shifting spend from catastrophic reactive care to proactive, evidence-based intervention.
The 1% Risk Rule: Forensic Stratification
Most plans treat all members equally. We treat them precisely. Our modeling shows that the Top 1% of your workforce typically drives 36% of your total healthcare spend. Ignoring this concentration is the single fastest way to destroy a renewal budget.
Cardiac Disorders
Early identification of congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and post-event readmission risk through predictive flags and care coordination.
Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome
Targeting uncontrolled Type 2 diabetes, insulin dependency, and comorbid obesity before they trigger ER visits, amputations, or dialysis-level spending.
Hypertension & Chronic Kidney Disease
Closing the gap between diagnosis and control. We flag declining eGFR trends and rising BP readings to prevent progression to stage-4/5 CKD and transplant eligibility.
ER Optimization & Redirection
Emergency room visits are the single most expensive entry point into the healthcare system — and a significant share are entirely avoidable. We use forensic claims auditing to identify steerable ER utilization and redirect members to appropriate primary care, telemedicine, and urgent care alternatives.
Forensic utilization review
Our analytics flag avoidable ER episodes by diagnosis, time of day, and member history — giving us a clear map of where redirection will produce the highest return.
Active steering & alternative care networks
We deploy telemedicine, nurse-line triage, and same-day primary care access to intercept non-emergency episodes before they hit the ER — cutting the paid claim by over 90% per event.
Proof Point · Redirect Math
Forensic auditing identified that 15% of this population's ER usage was entirely avoidable. By using our primary care and telemedicine steering models, every single ER redirection to alternative care centers saved the plan an average of $774 per event.
Privacy & Security. All analytics are performed on de-identified data in 100% compliance with HIPAA regulations. We use institutional-grade AI to protect your employees' privacy while protecting your company's margins.
Truth in Compensation
Two business models. Only one is on your side.
Most employers have never seen what their broker actually earns. Here is the difference between the system you have been sold and the way EPIQ runs.
How they get paid
Traditional Broker
Carrier-paid
The EPIQ Model
Client-paid · 100% Flat-Fee
Compensation structure
% of premium commission — they earn more when your premium goes up.
Flat fee, agreed in writing. Our pay does not move with your premium.
Carrier overrides & bonuses
Hidden contingent commissions, production bonuses, trips, and overrides.
Zero. We refuse all carrier kickbacks, bonuses, and override programs.
Whose interest is served
Carrier first. Broker second. Employer last.
Employer. Period. We have no other paymaster to keep happy.
Service cadence
Reactive — phone goes quiet between renewals.
Year-round advocacy: claims, compliance, audits, employee escalations.
Data & analytics
Carrier-supplied report cards. Rear-view.
Predictive SAIL™ + TOIC modeling. Forward-looking.
Renewal posture
Re-market the same plan to the same carriers.
Re-engineer the plan, the funding model, and the network.
Resources
See the work, then read the thinking.
Sample analytics from real client engagements, plus plain-English notes from the EPIQ team on benefits, risk, and the broker-carrier system.
Sample Reports
The analytics our clients see — downloadable.
Real outputs from the SAIL™ predictive engine and TOIC PCP compliance analysis. De-identified, in PDF, ready to inspect.
- Sample SAIL™ Report — predictive morbidity scoring
- Sample TOIC Report — PCP compliance & cost containment
Insights
Plain English from the EPIQ team.
Sharp, opinionated, useful. Notes on benefits, risk, cyber, and the broker-carrier system clients are stuck inside.
- The renewal letter is not your renewal.
- Three risks every mid-market CFO is underpricing in 2026.
How We Work
A better process for employers who are done with broker theater.
Four steps that put strategy ahead of selling — and keep us in the work long after the renewal meeting ends.
- 01
We start with the problem.
We learn the business, the workforce, the recurring pain points, and the financial pressure points first. We do not start with a quote, a deck, or a canned recommendation.
- 02
We find what is driving cost and risk.
Claims, demographics, plan structure, market conditions, employee friction, carrier behavior — we analyze the full picture before recommending a path.
- 03
We build the right strategy.
That may mean staying fully insured, moving to level-funded or self-funded, restructuring networks, redesigning contributions, or reworking P&C and risk protections. The recommendation follows the facts.
- 04
We stay in it with you.
Open enrollment, claims escalations, compliance paperwork, audits, ACA filings, employee questions, midyear issues — this is where most firms get thin. We do not.
Client Perspective
The strongest proof usually sounds like relief.
The most useful feedback focuses on concrete pain points rather than polished praise — lack of communication, bad plan design, unclear incentives, and expensive claims problems other brokers left unresolved.
"EPIQ identified a $4.0M cost difference over 3 years by surfacing gaps in care our previous broker missed entirely."
CFO
Family-owned hospitality group · 1,400 employees
"Using the SAIL™ model, we were able to intervene on high-cost Rx spend a full 12 months early — before it ever hit our renewal."
Director of HR
Multi-state healthcare operator
"The advice is direct and transparent. Our annual trend rate dropped significantly because of their PCP compliance strategy."
President
Third-generation manufacturing business
"We had a six-figure claims issue that prior brokers told us to absorb. EPIQ worked it until it was overturned."
Controller
Dental practice group · 22 locations
Locations
Three offices. One accountable team.
Las Vegas serves as our headquarters, with offices in Long Beach and Sandy supporting a regional boutique footprint. The promise behind the addresses is simpler: direct access to one engaged team — never a handoff-driven service model.
Final Word
Get a second opinion before your next renewal gets decided for you.
See how your plan compares to our 20-million-member national benchmark database. No pitch decks. Just hard financial data.
A 30-minute benchmark read. No obligation. No follow-up flood.
MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK.