---
title: What’s Driving Healthcare Renewals in 2027?
description: Healthcare renewals are being shaped by rising stop-loss premiums, more high-cost claims, and a 9% medical cost trend. See what employers can act on now.
image: https://23320107.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/23320107/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/Blackwell%20Brand%20Mountain%20Peaks%20With%20Arrows.png
---

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# What’s Driving Healthcare Renewals in 2027?

[Market Intelligence](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/tag/market-intelligence)

Your claims matter. So does the market you are renewing into.

Segal’s 2026 medical stop-loss data shows an average premium increase of 12.7% for groups that maintained similar specific stop-loss coverage. The same analysis found that the number of claimants with seven-figure claims has grown an average of [25% per year over the past four years.](https://www.segalco.com/consulting-insights/medical-stop-loss-premiums-increase-nearly-13-percent/)

The pressure is broader than stop-loss. PwC projects a 9% group medical cost trend for 2027, the highest in 17 years. Marsh expects employer health benefit costs to rise an average of 8.2% in 2027 even after planned cost-reduction measures. Employers in its survey estimated an [11% increase if they made no changes.](https://www.pwc.com/us/medicalcosttrend)

So when a renewal comes in higher than expected, claims experience is only one place to look.

#### Why are healthcare renewals increasing?

Several forces are putting pressure on employer health plans at the same time.

High-cost claims are becoming more common. Segal reports that seven-figure claimants have increased sharply over the past four years. It also notes that some drug therapies now cost more than $3.5 million.

Medical costs are rising more broadly as well. PwC points to higher provider reimbursement, pharmacy spending, behavioral health utilization, and out-of-network payment disputes among the factors contributing to its [9% projected medical cost trend for 2027](https://www.pwc.com/us/medicalcosttrend).

For employers, the result is a renewal shaped by both their own plan experience and conditions across the healthcare market.

#### What does this mean for stop-loss renewals?

Stop-loss pricing reflects the risk that a carrier is agreeing to take on.

As the frequency and severity of large claims rise, the cost of transferring that risk can rise with it.

 That helps explain why a group can have a relatively reasonable claims year and still receive a [difficult stop-loss renewal](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/questions-to-ask-group-medical-stop-loss-captive). Brokers in that spot usually start with a short list of [questions to ask about a group medical stop-loss captive](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/questions-to-ask-group-medical-stop-loss-captive). 

The employer’s own claims remain important. The carrier is also pricing for the broader environment in which those claims may occur.

That makes the renewal conversation more useful when it goes beyond one question:

**How did we perform last year?**

A second question belongs beside it:

**What are we doing during the year to manage the risks that could drive the next renewal?**

#### Which parts of a healthcare renewal can an employer influence?

An employer cannot control medical inflation or the cost of every new therapy.

There are still parts of the plan where action is possible.

##### Identify risk earlier

Claims data becomes more useful when it shows where risk is developing while there is still time to respond.

A developing kidney condition, rising specialty pharmacy spend, or a complex cancer case may require different resources. Waiting until renewal turns those issues into historical information.

Earlier visibility gives the employer and broker more time to determine whether intervention makes sense.

##### Manage high-cost conditions during the year

Large claims often develop over months.

 Clinical support, pharmacy management, care navigation, and condition-specific programs can give the plan more options before a claim has fully developed. For self-funded employers, that usually means [actionable healthcare navigation](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/what-is-actionable-healthcare-navigation-for-self-funded-employers), not another unused vendor portal.

The goal is not to eliminate large claims. It is to manage the risks that can reasonably be managed.

##### Review how risk is financed

 For some employers, the funding structure itself deserves another look. The practical comparison is [standalone stop-loss versus a group medical captive](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/standalone-stop-loss-vs-group-medical-captives). 

A group medical stop-loss captive allows participating employers to share a defined layer of high-cost claim risk while using stop-loss coverage for catastrophic exposure. That shared layer is [how group stop-loss captives cut claims volatility](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/how-group-stop-loss-captives-cut-claims-volatility).

That structure does not remove healthcare inflation. It changes how certain risks are financed and gives participating employers the opportunity to take a more active role in managing the claims that affect performance.

#### How Blackwell approaches renewal risk

 Blackwell combines captive risk financing with proactive risk management for every participating employer. That is the difference between a captive that only pools risk and one built to [change the cost-containment equation](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/why-healthcare-cost-containment-fails-and-how-proactive-captives-change-the-equation). 

 Every member must address all five [B.Well Blueprint](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/b.well-blueprint-the-proactive-model-redefining-captive-stability) risk-management categories. The [B.Well Blueprint](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/b.well-blueprint-the-proactive-model-redefining-captive-stability) is the proactive model Blackwell uses to keep that work consistent. Employers may use Blackwell’s included solutions or qualifying vendors they already have in place. 

Blackwell also coordinates implementation, partner and TPA follow-up, and ongoing program management.

The intent is simple: give brokers and employers more visibility and more opportunities to act during the year, while Blackwell handles much of the coordination required to keep the program moving.

That becomes especially relevant in a market where stop-loss costs and high-cost claims are both moving higher.

#### What should brokers ask before the next renewal?

 A stronger renewal review should cover more than the final quote. Finance leaders often want [the same briefing in CFO terms](https://blackwellcaptive.com/blog/what-cfos-should-know-about-stop-loss-captives) before they will change the funding structure. 

Ask where the largest claims came from, which risks are developing now, what pharmacy spend is doing, and whether the employer has resources in place to address those areas.

Then look at the financing.

Is the current structure still the right one for the employer’s risk, cash flow, and long-term goals?

Those conversations are easier to have before renewal pressure narrows the available options.

#### 2027 healthcare renewal FAQs

##### Why are healthcare renewals increasing in 2027?

Medical costs and high-cost claims are both increasing. PwC projects a 9% group medical cost trend for 2027, while Segal reports rising stop-loss premiums and continued growth in seven-figure claims.

##### How much are medical stop-loss premiums increasing?

Segal’s 2026 dataset found an average premium increase of 12.7% for groups maintaining similar specific stop-loss coverage. The average across all groups in its dataset was 11.5%. 

##### Are million-dollar healthcare claims becoming more common?

Yes. Segal reports that the number of claimants with seven-figure claims in its medical claims database grew an average of 25% per year over the previous four years. 

##### Does a higher renewal mean the employer had a bad claims year?

Not necessarily. An employer’s own claims experience matters, but stop-loss carriers and health plans are also pricing against broader medical cost and high-cost claim trends.

##### What can employers do before renewal?

Employers can review emerging claims risk, pharmacy spend, high-cost conditions, plan design, and funding strategy before the renewal quote arrives. Earlier visibility gives brokers and employers more time to evaluate the available options.

##### When should an employer consider a group medical stop-loss captive?

A captive may be worth evaluating when an employer wants more visibility into healthcare costs, is comfortable sharing a defined layer of risk, and is willing to actively manage the claims and cost drivers affecting the plan.

**Have a client with rising stop-loss costs? [Let’s look at where the pressure is coming from.](https://blackwellcaptive.com/contact)**

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