ICHRA is undeniably gaining momentum. Over the last five years, adoption has increased by more than 1,000%, with participation tripling between 2024 and 2025. (At Zorro, we saw our user base grow by 3x year-over-year in our 2026 open enrollment alone!)
But while demand is growing, many brokers are still working out how to translate that momentum into repeatable, scalable sales. We’ve heard their questions: How do you sell ICHRA confidently? How do you scale it profitably? And how do you address the objections that keep deals from closing?
To get some answers, we surveyed over 200 brokers nationwide and assembled a panel of experts for a BenefitsPro webinar to unpack the findings and share practical strategies for brokers looking to build a thriving ICHRA practice.
The bottom line: 92.8% of brokers believe ICHRA adoption will increase significantly over the next five years. But success belongs to those who can navigate the learning curve now.
Our 2026 Broker ICHRA Survey Report drops on 3/31. Request your copy now and get first access for the full view of 200+ brokers’ perspectives on ICHRA.
How many brokers are actively selling ICHRA in 2026?
ICHRA is quickly moving into the mainstream — but brokers aren’t all on the same page when it comes to selling it. Some brokers are still figuring it out. Others already have a thriving ICHRA book of business.
Our survey found that nearly half of brokers are now selling ICHRA. Of those, about half currently have 1-2 clients on ICHRA, while nearly a quarter have scaled to 11 or more ICHRA clients. During the webinar, a live poll echoed this divide in real-time: About two-thirds of attendees hadn't sold an ICHRA yet, while nearly 10% had over 11 ICHRA clients.
"We're still very early in the ICHRA journey," Matthew Domagala, VP of Product Strategy & Innovation at Ambetter Health, explained. "We're right around this point where we're moving from a 101 with ICHRA... to a 201 and 301 and even master-level courses around it… If you look at the history of benefits in general, this isn't uncommon. We sort of start... with this point of view of skepticism, limited involvement, questioning it, making sure it'll stand up. Once they pass that validation test, that's when we see the journey start to take off."
The shift is tangible in broker behavior. "Two years ago, if you talked to a group broker about ICHRA, they may know of ICHRA, probably hadn't sold it. Might even be using a defense mechanism more than selling for it," Matthew continued. "We're seeing more and more involvement there. It's more of like, 'I've sold one this year for my first time. I do have questions.'"
Meanwhile, the ICHRA market is evolving beyond just small groups. Average group sizes are getting bigger — employers with 50 to 2,000 employees are increasingly evaluating and adopting ICHRA, signaling that this isn't just a solution for smaller businesses.
The takeaway is clear: brokers are leaning into ICHRA not just because it’s growing, but because it works.
Budget pressures + employers’ appetite for alternatives = major opportunity for brokers to pitch ICHRA
Rising group plan costs remain the number one driver of ICHRA interest. But here's what's different now: employer openness to alternatives has fundamentally shifted.
As employers face what could be the biggest spike in health insurance costs in at least 15 years, most can’t afford to passively accept high renewals. Instead, they're evaluating. They're demanding measurable outcomes, seeking to eliminate redundancies, and looking for strategic benefits roadmaps that address long-term cost sustainability.
"Clients are really showing a strong push for clarity and really a better understanding on that return on investment," observed Jackson Lee, Account Manager and ICHRA Subject Matter Expert at Lockton. "There really is a clearer shift towards more evaluations, that consolidation if you will, and just that broader strategic guidance as opposed to those transactional renewals that many of us have gotten used to."
The industries feeling the heat most acutely? "Hospitality, retail, staffing, home health, construction," Jackson noted. "Multi-state employers in general. Those are the groups that are feeling more renewal pain year-over-year."
But it's not just about finding relief from rising costs for one budget cycle alone. ICHRA fundamentally restructures the conversation, providing long-term relief.
"ICHRA is uniquely positioned to tackle [rising costs] because it fundamentally changes the cost structure as opposed to trying to negotiate within it," Jackson explained. "Traditional group insurance keeps employers trapped in that same cycle of year-over-year increases driven by a concentrated carrier market. ICHRA does break that pattern."
That means brokers must help their clients understand this reframe: You're not negotiating better terms within a broken system — you're exiting the system entirely and tapping into the individual market's competitive dynamics and massive risk pool.
The ICHRA objections holding brokers back (and how to overcome them)
Our survey revealed that 54% of brokers cite individual market quality concerns as the top objection they hear from clients, followed closely by employee perception that ICHRA represents a benefits cut. But here's what the panel made clear: Most resistance comes from misconceptions, not reality.
Objection #1: Individual market quality concerns (”Aren’t ICHRA plans worse than group plans?”)
→ The misconception: The individual market offers inferior plans with narrow networks and limited coverage.
→ The reality: The notion that individual market plans are categorically inferior is outdated — and often reflects unfamiliarity rather than current market reality.
"They're very much similar to the plans that you're going to see in a group environment," according to Matthew. In fact, ICHRA plans are ACA-qualified, which means they follow the same coverage requirements as group plans, including no preexisting condition exclusions and no individual medical underwriting. Employees are covered by the same regulatory protections they'd have under a group plan.
But the plans are more than just comparable — they’re competitive. The individual market has evolved rapidly in recent years, with increased carrier investment driving meaningful improvements in plan quality and offerings. Carriers now offer $0 deductible plans, gold and platinum tier options, and features like cross-state network access that were previously exclusive to group plans.
Jackson reframed the network breadth concern entirely: "Comparing ICHRA to traditional plans is apples to oranges. Group plans are built around employer-driven design choices, while ICHRA opens access to that broader individual market. When clients ultimately assume that ICHRA equals lower quality, to me they really are reacting to a lack of familiarity, not necessarily a lack of value."
Instead of one carrier with 2-3 plan options, employees now have access to multiple carriers and potentially 100+ plan designs. "The network breadth within all of that is going to achieve... the same outcome as that large national network," Jackson explained.
→ How to combat this objection: Use data. Jackson recommended checking the IDEON heat map, which shows county-by-county cost comparisons between ACA and fully insured group plans dating back to 2019.
Objection #2: Employee perception ("This feels like a benefits cut")
→ The misconception: Employees will see ICHRA as the employer taking benefits away and will revolt.
→ The reality: If the employer has a thoughtful change management strategy, their employees often end up seeing more value from their new plans.
"It's not a cut. It's a shift from that one-size-fits-all plan to a system that gives employees more choice and control," Jackson emphasized. "We're not taking something away. We're giving you more ownership, more flexibility, and more options."
But the messaging really matters here. It's not about finding an exact match (remember, apples to oranges). It's about demonstrating equal buying power and access to comparable — in many instances richer — coverage options.
"Group plans do force everyone into that same box. With that move to ICHRA, it lets employees choose their own plans that match their doctors, their prescriptions, and at the end of the day, their budget," Jackson explained.
→ How to combat this objection: Lead with choice, not cost-cutting. Position ICHRA as personalization and empowerment. And critically, ensure you're partnering with a third-party administrator (TPA) that provides robust employee education — webinars, licensed agents, decision support tools, and ideally an intuitive plan matching tool to help employees make informed choices.
Objection #3: The paternalistic mindset ("My employees can't handle this")
→ The misconception: Employees aren't capable of selecting their own plans or understanding the individual market on their own.
→ The reality: Given the right tools and support, most employees are able to make confident plan decisions (and our survey found that 85% of brokers agree with this sentiment).
This objection reveals more about employer mindset than employee capability. "It's scary at first. It's like giving keys to a 16-year-old to go drive," Matthew acknowledged.
But Zorro’s 2026 ICHRA open enrollment data is proof that employees can, in fact, handle choice: 84% of employees selected their health plan without ever accessing live support. With our AI-powered decision support tools, employees made thoughtful, diverse choices that reflected their unique priorities:
- 70% still chose Silver, Gold, or Platinum plans (not just racing to the cheapest Bronze option)
- 64% demonstrated carrier loyalty while strategically adjusting coverage levels
- HMO selection jumped from 38% to 53% as employees made rational trade-offs between network breadth and cost
Jackson emphasized that once employees have the right knowledge and access, "they start going off on their own and Googling things: ‘What carriers are available to me?’ ‘What do these networks look like?’ And asking the right and appropriate questions."
→ How to combat this objection: Shift the conversation from paternalistic protection to employee empowerment. And emphasize the support infrastructure: platforms, agents, education, and technology that guide employees through the process.
What signals indicate that ICHRA is going mainstream?
What should brokers watch to know that ICHRA is truly moving from early adoption to standard consideration? The panel identified several indicators already happening:
→ More employers are evaluating ICHRA: It's becoming a standard part of benefits planning discussions, not a fringe alternative. Employer RFPs and benefits reviews now routinely include ICHRA as a comparison scenario, even when they're not facing immediate cost crises. HR leaders are asking their brokers to model ICHRA alongside their group renewals as part of standard due diligence, signaling that it's transitioned from "emergency option" to "strategic consideration.”
→ Carriers are actively investing in the individual market: Major carriers are developing products specifically designed for ICHRA adoption, rather than repurposing existing individual market plans. They’re now offering features like $0 deductible options, cross-border network access across multiple states, and enhanced plan designs at the gold and platinum levels — all of which signal that carriers view ICHRA as a long-term growth opportunity, not a temporary experiment.
→ Brokers are shifting from defense to adoption: Two years ago, group brokers who knew about ICHRA often positioned themselves against it, raising objections to protect their traditional group business. Now, those same brokers are proactively bringing ICHRA to the table during strategic planning discussions — not as a last resort, but as a core option alongside level funded and traditional group plans.
"The remaining resistance usually comes from the misconceptions rather than those true barriers," Jackson observed. "Once employers see how that choice ultimately expands, costs do stabilize... those objections ultimately fade. And the model itself becomes easier to embrace across the organization."
ICHRA is no longer experimental — it's a strategic tool in the broker toolkit
The brokers who've scaled to 11+ clients have demonstrated that success is replicable. But it requires investment in education, partnership selection, and confident objection-handling. And the brokers who master ICHRA now will be positioned to lead as adoption continues to accelerate.
The question is no longer "Should I sell ICHRA?" but now "How do I position ICHRA as part of my strategic benefits advisory?" Here’s how:
✓ Understand the ideal client profile: Cost-sensitive employers, distributed workforces, multi-state operations, industries with thin margins
✓ Address objections with data and reframing: Individual market quality is comparable to group with more choice; ICHRA is empowerment, not a cut; employees are capable with proper support
✓ Partner strategically: TPA selection, carrier relationships, and technology platforms matter enormously
✓ Position yourself as strategic advisor: Your value shifts from day-to-day servicing to high-level benefits planning and education
✓ Model equal buying power: Show comparable access, not identical plan design
✓ Leverage the retention data: The HRA Council found that over 90% of employers who offered an HRA renewed it the following year, signaling strong satisfaction with the model
The brokers who are scaling their ICHRA practices are mastering a new kind of conversation with their clients. They're talking about cost structure transformation, employee empowerment, and long-term benefits strategy. And they're meeting employers exactly where they are: exhausted by group plan volatility and hungry for alternatives that actually work.
The momentum is undeniable. The question is whether you'll be leading the conversation or playing catch-up.
Want to dive deeper? Our 2026 Broker ICHRA Survey Report drops on 3/31. Request your copy now and get first access to explore additional insights, benchmarking data, and perspectives from brokers who've successfully scaled their ICHRA practices.
