If you've been shopping for group health insurance and feel like fully insured plans keep getting more expensive every year, you're not imagining it. Premium renewals of 10–20% are common — even when your employees barely used their benefits. There's an alternative worth knowing about: level-funded health plans. The Problem With Traditional (Fully Insured) Plans With a standard group health plan, you pay a fixed monthly premium to a carrier. The carrier takes on all the risk.