PEO insurance: what a PEO covers and how you pay for it

By the HRPricing editorial teamReviewed October 18, 2026How we research and score

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PEO insurance is the health, workers' compensation and other coverage a professional employer organization gives your employees under its own policies: as co-employer it can sponsor one large plan for many small clients. The PEO's fee is usually separate from the premiums: Justworks charges $124 per employee per month for PEO Plus with medical, dental and vision administration, and its pricing page does not include premiums (checked October 16, 2026).

PEO insurance is employee coverage, mainly health benefits and workers' compensation, provided through a PEO's own group plans and master policies.

See Justworks pricing on Justworks’s site
On this page
  1. What PEO insurance includes
  2. Example: a 10-person team
  3. What buyers complain about
  4. PEO insurance vs buying your own

What PEO insurance includes

  • Health benefits: medical, dental and vision on the PEO's plans. Carriers named on PEO sites include Aetna, MetLife, Delta Dental and Chubb (Paychex PEO) and Aetna, MetLife, Kaiser and BCBS (Engage PEO).
  • Workers' comp: often a PEO master policy. Justworks says it is required for PEO clients; ADP says TotalSource includes it in the service fee; BBSI uses payroll-based premiums with no deposits or year-end audits.
  • Other cover: Insperity's fee includes allocations for liability coverage; ADP TotalSource lists EPLI-backed guidance, 401(k) and EAP plans.

Example: a 10-person team

PEO fees for 10 employees, before health premiums
PricingPer year
Justworks PEO Plus, $124 per employee per month$14,880
ADP industry range of 2% to 12% of payroll, on a $600,000 payroll$12,000 to $72,000
TriNet, Insperity, ADP TotalSource, Paychex PEOQuote only

Sources: Justworks pricing; ADP PEO cost article (July 14, 2026), an industry range, not a TotalSource price; TriNet and Insperity pricing pages. Checked Oct 16, 2026.

Premiums come on top unless the PEO bundles them. TriNet says medical, dental and vision premiums are separate from its fee. A bundled bill is harder to compare, so ask for the admin fee, each benefit premium and the workers' comp rate as separate lines. The full picture is in what a PEO costs, and providers are ranked in our PEO rankings.

What buyers complain about

  • Fees hidden in workers' comp. An ADP TotalSource client wrote that "the admin fees are hidden in the workers comp rates" (Capterra, October 23, 2024, more than a year old), and another described bundled fees followed by a large audit bill (Trustpilot, October 1, 2026).
  • Narrow plan choice. One ADP TotalSource reviewer was "limited to just Aetna health plans that increase every year" (Capterra, March 31, 2025, more than a year old).
  • Renewal jumps. ADP TotalSource reviewers on Capterra reported +8% in 2025 (review of April 1, 2025) and +18% in a second year (May 24, 2024); both reviews are more than a year old.

See our ADP TotalSource review and our Justworks review.

PEO insurance vs buying your own

Without a PEO you buy a small-group plan or fund an ICHRA, and buy workers' comp from a carrier, often pay-as-you-go. State rules matter: Texas lets most private employers opt out of workers' comp, while New York requires it for any employee. Compare in small business health insurance and workers' comp cost, and see PEO workers' compensation.

Frequently asked questions

What is PEO insurance?
It is the health benefits, workers' comp and other coverage a PEO provides to your employees under its own group plans and master policies, as their co-employer.
What is a PEO for insurance purposes?
A PEO co-employs your staff, which lets it put them on a large plan it sponsors for many small businesses. You keep managing the work; the PEO runs payroll and the benefits paperwork.
Are insurance premiums included in the PEO fee?
Usually not. Justworks' $124 PEO Plus fee does not show premiums, and TriNet says premiums are separate from its fee. ADP says TotalSource includes workers' comp in its service fee (checked October 16, 2026).
Is PEO health insurance cheaper?
Sometimes. Some owners report better plans through a PEO; one ADP TotalSource client found a policy at about 75% of the cost by shopping alone (Capterra, May 24, 2024, more than two years old). Get a quote from a broker for the same plan before you sign.
Does a PEO provide workers' comp?
Most do, often on a master policy. Justworks requires it for PEO clients, Paychex runs a PEO master workers' comp policy and BBSI uses payroll-based premiums with no deposits or year-end audits.
Sources (11)
  1. Justworks: Pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  2. TriNet: PEO pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  3. Insperity: Our pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  4. ADP: What is the cost of a PEO? (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  5. ADP: ADP TotalSource (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  6. Paychex: Paychex PEO (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  7. Engage PEO: Home page (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  8. BBSI: Pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  9. Capterra: ADP TotalSource reviews, page 4 (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  10. Trustpilot: ADP reviews (checked Oct 16, 2026)
  11. Texas Department of Insurance: Workers' compensation for employers (checked Oct 16, 2026)

This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official source linked above before you file or sign a contract. Read our disclaimer.