Arlo Health Texas Group Health Insurance – Level Funded Plans for Texas Small Business (2026)
Arlo is a technology-driven level funded health plan for small and mid-size employers, with fixed monthly costs, $0 primary and virtual care, and a 24/7 member care team. If your group runs healthy, 100% of the unused claims fund comes back to you.
The Claims Surplus Is Yours, All of It
This is the single biggest reason Texas employers move to Arlo, and it is the part most brokers gloss over.
In a level funded plan your fixed monthly payment is split into three pieces: a claims fund, a stop-loss premium, and administration. The claims fund is your money, set aside to pay your employees’ medical bills. The question every Texas employer should ask is what happens to that money if the team stays healthy and does not spend it.
Under a fully insured plan the answer is simple: the carrier keeps it. Under most level funded plans the carrier keeps a slice of it, either through a surplus-sharing formula or through back-end fees that quietly reduce what comes back to you. Arlo returns 100% of the unused claims fund to the employer. No surplus split, no percentage retained, no back-end true-up.
How a fixed Arlo payment is allocated, and what happens to the claims fund at the end of the plan year.
Surplus Treatment Compared
| Fully insured | Typical level funded | Arlo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who keeps unused claims dollars | The carrier keeps all of it | The carrier keeps a share, via a surplus split or back-end fees | You get 100% back |
| Monthly cost | Fixed | Fixed | Fixed |
| Large-claim protection | Built into the premium | Stop-loss, sometimes quoted separately | Aggregate stop-loss included in every plan |
| Claims visibility | Rarely shared with small groups | Varies by carrier | Live claims dashboard during the year |
| Upside for a healthy group | None | Partial | Full |
Surplus terms vary by carrier and by contract. Ask us to put the surplus language from any level funded quote side by side with Arlo’s before you sign.
How Arlo’s Plans Are Built
Arlo bundles the pieces of a self-funded plan into one package so a small Texas employer gets one fixed monthly bill and one relationship.
| Component | What Arlo Provides |
|---|---|
| Plan structure | Level Funded Fixed monthly payment covering expected claims, stop-loss, and administration |
| Claims surplus | 100% of the unused claims fund is refunded to the employer |
| Stop-loss | Aggregate stop-loss from A-rated carriers, 12/18 contract basis by default |
| Networks | More than 20 options, including national PPO networks, regional high-performance networks, and reference-based pricing |
| Plan design | Simple copay designs available with no deductible and no coinsurance |
| Member care | $0 in-person primary care, $0 virtual urgent care, 24/7 concierge care team in the Arlo app |
| Eligibility | About 5 to 250 employees with at least 50% participation |
Plan options, networks, and group size rules depend on your ZIP code and census and are confirmed at quote.
Arlo by the Numbers
Arlo launched in 2022 and raised a $4 million seed round in March 2025 led by Upfront Ventures, with 8VC and General Catalyst participating. Here is where the company stands as of 2026.
| Metric | Figure |
|---|---|
| Members covered | Tens of thousands of lives |
| Employer groups enrolled | Hundreds of businesses nationwide |
| Brokerages appointed | Hundreds |
| Groups quoted | Tens of thousands |
| Typical group size | 5 to 250 employees |
| Premium vs. traditional carriers | Up to 20% lower, per Arlo |
| Claims surplus returned to employer | 100% |
| Member app satisfaction | 95%+ CSAT |
| Broker quote turnaround | Firm quotes within hours, no claims data or individual health questionnaires required |
| Concierge response time | Under 3 minutes, per Arlo |
| Stop-loss partner | Nationwide, since October 2024 |
| States available | Most, including Texas (excludes WA, NY, HI, DC, OK) |
What Renewal Increases Actually Look Like
Renewal math is the reason most Texas employers start shopping in the first place. Here is the benchmark, and what Arlo employers report.
| Benchmark | Annual increase |
|---|---|
| U.S. employer family premiums, 2025 (KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey) | +6%, following +7% in each of the two prior years, to an average of $26,993 |
| What many Texas small groups actually see at renewal | Double digits. One Arlo employer described 15% to 20% annual increases from their prior carrier |
| Arlo employer experience | An Arlo customer reported their renewal increase was cut in half after switching |
Benchmark data: KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey. Arlo figures are customer-reported and are not a guarantee of your group’s result. Small-firm employees already contribute far more for family coverage than large-firm employees ($8,889 vs. $6,227 per year, KFF 2025), which is why surplus return and stable renewals matter more at this size.
What Employees Get: The Arlo App
Arlo’s member experience runs through a mobile app that works as a care guide rather than a claims lookup tool. Members text a real care team, see the price of a visit before booking it, order labs, and refill prescriptions from the same place. For a Texas business without a dedicated HR department, that keeps benefit questions off the owner’s desk.
A real care team, 24/7
No surprise bills, ever
Everyday care at $0
Illustrations of the Arlo member experience. Actual screens, plan copays, and provider pricing vary by plan design and location.
What Texas Employers Should Know
How Arlo works, and what that means for a Texas HR team comparing level funded options.
A National MGU, Available in Texas
Arlo is a managing general underwriter (MGU): it designs, prices, and runs the plan, while stop-loss is issued by carriers rated A by AM Best. In October 2024 Arlo and Nationwide announced a partnership to offer medical stop-loss for small businesses. Arlo sells in most states, including Texas. It is not currently available in Washington, New York, Hawaii, Washington DC, or Oklahoma.
Fixed Monthly Costs, With the Upside Kept by You
Arlo plans are level funded. Your business pays the same amount every month, covering expected claims, stop-loss, and administration. Stop-loss protects the plan if claims run high, and 100% of the claims fund comes back to you if they run low. Because the plan is self-funded underneath, it is governed by ERISA rather than filed as a fully insured Texas policy, which gives more flexibility in plan design.
$0 Primary Care and a 24/7 Care Team
Members pay $0 for in-person primary care visits and virtual urgent care. The Arlo app connects members to a concierge care team around the clock, shows the cost of a visit before it’s booked, and steers people to lower-cost, high-quality care. For a small Texas business without a dedicated HR department, that takes a lot of benefit questions off the owner’s desk.
Network Choice Matters in Texas
Texas hospital prices vary widely between systems and metros. Arlo can pair a plan with a national PPO, a regional high-performance network, or reference-based pricing. We’ll check that your employees’ doctors and hospitals are in the network you pick before you enroll.
Data-Driven Underwriting
Arlo prices your group rather than dropping it into a broad small-group rate band.
Arlo uses its own underwriting technology to price each group’s risk more precisely than the broad rating many carriers apply to small groups. For a healthy Texas workforce that can mean sharper pricing than a legacy carrier’s quote. Groups with older demographics or several high-cost conditions may see less favorable pricing, which is exactly the comparison an independent broker can run for you.
How HRAs Work with Arlo Health
HRA compatibility for Texas employers pairing an HRA with Arlo’s level funded plans.
Arlo is a level funded program only. It does not offer a traditional fully insured product.
📋 Fully Insured + HRA
Not available through Arlo. Employers who need a fully insured plan should compare BCBSTX, UHC, or Aetna.
💰 Level Funded + HRA
A common pairing: choose a higher-deductible Arlo plan to lower the fixed monthly cost, then use an integrated HRA to reimburse part of employees’ deductibles.
🏛 Self-Funded + HRA
Arlo plans are self-funded ERISA plans underneath the level funded structure, so an integrated HRA can be layered in with employer-set limits. We confirm HRA administration details with Arlo at quote.
Arlo Health – Pros & Cons for Texas Employers
An honest assessment for Texas HR teams and business owners evaluating Arlo.
✓ Strengths
- 100% of the claims surplus is refunded to you, not split with the carrier
- Fixed monthly costs with stop-loss built in
- $0 primary care and $0 virtual urgent care
- 24/7 concierge care team and price transparency in the app
- More than 20 network options, including reference-based pricing
- Data-driven underwriting can favor healthy groups
- Firm quotes in hours, with no claims data or health questionnaires needed
✗ Limitations
- Newer company with less name recognition than BCBSTX or UHC
- No fully insured option for groups that need one
- Groups with ongoing high-cost claims may price less favorably
- Minimum of about 5 enrolled employees and 50% participation
- Narrower networks save money but limit provider choice
- Not built for large groups wanting pure ASO self-funding