How this scorecard works.
A short, honest read on what this tool is, what it isn't, and how the score is built.
What this is
A free, anonymous 16-question diagnostic for HR leaders, CFOs, benefits committees, and general counsel who are preparing for a health plan renewal. The tool measures knowledge-readiness — not timing. Whether you have enough time to act matters less than whether you know what a prepared employer should know going into the cycle. The score is based entirely on the answers you provide, weighted against the things that most commonly separate a prepared employer from an unprepared one at the renewal table.
What this isn't
This is not a prediction of your renewal outcome. It's not an audit. It's not legal advice. Two employers with the same score will have very different renewal outcomes depending on their carrier relationships, their plan history, their demographics, and their risk tolerance. The tool measures what you know — not what the carrier is about to do. If the score surfaces specific gaps, engage your broker, your consultant, or independent counsel to close them.
Privacy
Nothing you enter leaves this device. There is no backend, no form submission, no analytics capturing your answers, and no account required. Your score is computed entirely in your browser. When you close the page, your answers are gone — they are not saved. If you want to keep your results, print them to PDF before closing the tab.
How the score is calculated
The scorecard contains 16 questions across 5 dimensions. Each question has 4–5 possible answers, each worth between 0 and 100 points. Questions are weighted (from 0.8x to 1.4x) based on how strongly that topic separates prepared from unprepared employers at renewal. The heaviest weight — 1.4x — is on Question 2, which asks whether you have an independent forward-looking projection of next year's claims cost. This is the single most diagnostic question in the tool, because it measures whether you have your own number going into a negotiation against a carrier's number.
Your overall score is the weighted average across all 16 questions, normalized to a 0–100 scale.
Readiness bands
80 or higher — Ready. You're in the top 5–10% of employers entering renewal. The work now is protecting what you've built and pressure-testing edges.
60 to 79 — Tight But Workable. Foundation is there, meaningful gaps remain. Usually in data depth or funding option visibility. Tight-cycle fixes are possible before renewal locks.
35 to 59 — Behind The Curve. Going into renewal at a meaningful information disadvantage. The carrier knows more about your plan than you do. This is where renewal surprises happen.
Below 35 — Negotiating Blind. Reacting to your renewal, not driving it. Most middle-market employers score here. The actions the tool surfaces are what a prepared employer already has — starting even a few of them changes next renewal cycle.
About the market context panel
The "2026 Market Context" panel at the top of your results shows benchmark data that every employer should know going into the renewal cycle. The numbers come from published sources: Mercer's 2025 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans, Segal's 2026 Health Plan Cost Trend Survey, Business Group on Health's 2026 Employer Health Care Strategy Survey, KFF's analysis of 318 small-group insurer rate filings, and Aon's 2026 employer healthcare cost projection. The 18–22% "field observation" figure reflects what advisors are actually seeing on many fully-insured renewals this cycle — higher than the published median because actual renewals are group-specific, not market-average.
Market context is shown in the results so you can compare your score against the environment you're scoring in. Being "Tight" in a 9% market is different from being "Tight" in a 20% market.
Why the heaviest question is about forward-looking data
The carrier has a projection. It's how they priced your renewal. The gap between employers who have their own independent projection — one built from their specific utilization, not just applied market trend — and employers who don't is the single biggest predictor of who drives their renewal versus who reacts to it. This is why the question carries a 1.4x weight: more than any other single variable, it predicts whether you walk into the renewal meeting with a number or without one.
About the "not sure" option
If you pick "not sure" on a question, the tool scores it like a low-knowledge answer — not a penalty, but a signal. Not knowing whether your group has been modeled for self-funding, for example, is a readiness gap. The score reflects that honestly. The feedback stays constructive.
Not applicable answers
Several funding questions include a "Not applicable for my group" option (e.g., "Too small for captive" or "Too large for level funding"). These score at 80/100 — credit for having legitimately ruled out an option, not penalty for not exploring it. A 50-employee group isn't expected to have modeled captive; a 5,000-life group isn't expected to be in a level-funded program.
Who built this
The Dillingham Benefits team built this tool because he believes most employers walk into renewal meetings without the information they need to have a real negotiation — and because the gap between a prepared employer and an unprepared one is almost always about knowledge, not budget. Reach out at cpalm@dillinghambenefits.com.
Using the output
You're welcome to print your results and share them with your committee, your counsel, your CFO, or your current broker. The tool is built to start better renewal conversations — not to be the last word on any of them.
Content baseline: April 2026. Reviewed periodically. Market benchmark data updates as new surveys are published.