Paul H. Flowers Jr. links storm blackout to employer health-plan renewals

After 13 days without power at his Gary home, Validation Institute–validated benefits adviser Paul H. Flowers Jr. is using the experience to argue that many employers face a similar lack of control at health-plan renewal. He says concentrated insurance markets, broker compensation rules and alternative funding options can change how much power employers really have.

Why it matters: - Paul H. Flowers Jr. says the same helplessness he felt during a 13-day blackout can hit small and midsize employers at health-plan renewal. - The comparison lands in two markets where customers often have limited leverage: regulated electricity service and employer health benefits. - Flowers says employers that understand funding options and broker compensation may gain more control over costs and plan design.

What happened: - Flowers says his Gary, Indiana, home lost electricity for 13 days after the Aug. 11 storm. - A derecho crossed Northwest Indiana on Aug. 11 during the late morning and afternoon. - The National Weather Service recorded a peak gust of 99 mph at Gary/Chicago International Airport at 11:09 a.m. - NIPSCO said outages peaked at about 301,000 that day, or more than 60% of its electric customers. - Outages rose to about 317,000 after additional storms on Aug. 12 and 13. - NIPSCO’s posted target for substantially completing restoration in Gary was 11:59 p.m. Aug. 25. - Flowers is founder and CEO of Superior Insurance Advisors. - Flowers and his firm appear in the Validation Institute’s directory of validated benefits advisers. - Flowers works with small and midsize employers on health plans. - During the blackout, Flowers said he charged his phone from the front seat of his car.

The details: - Flowers said he felt powerless because he could not find another supplier and had to wait for a restoration date that kept moving. - NIPSCO is a regulated monopoly utility. - Gary customers in NIPSCO’s assigned service territory cannot choose a competing retail electric utility. - The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approves NIPSCO rates. - The IURC’s July 1, 2026 residential-bill survey ranked NIPSCO highest among the eight rate-jurisdictional utilities surveyed at $225.91 for 1,000 kWh. - The survey excluded municipal and cooperative providers. - The IURC’s latest reliability report shows NIPSCO had the longest average outage duration and restoration time when major-event days were excluded. - NIPSCO was not the worst on every reliability measure. - On Aug. 24, Gov. Mike Braun directed the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor to file a complaint and ask the IURC to investigate NIPSCO’s storm preparation and response, vegetation-management and right-of-way practices, and whether regulatory-tracker funds were used as intended. - Employer health insurance is not a legal monopoly, but many state markets are concentrated. - A 2024 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that in 2022, three or fewer insurers held at least 80% of enrollment in individual and employer-group markets in at least 35 states. - KFF’s 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey put the average annual family premium at $26,993, up 6% from 2024 after 7% increases in each of the previous two years. - Among covered workers with single coverage and a general annual deductible, the average deductible was $2,631 at firms with 10 to 199 workers, compared with $1,670 at larger firms. - Federal law generally requires brokers and consultants expecting at least $1,000 in direct or indirect compensation for covered services to an ERISA group health plan to disclose that compensation in writing to the responsible plan fiduciary before the arrangement is entered into, extended or renewed. - The fiduciary must evaluate the reasonableness of the compensation and potential conflicts of interest. - Flowers said many employers feel the monopoly-like effect when a 40-person company receives its renewal. - Flowers said a monopoly does not have to earn a customer’s business every year; it only has to keep it. - Flowers said employers can be handed another increase while the broker recommending coverage may also be paid by the carrier.

Between the lines: - Flowers is framing health-plan renewals as a control problem, not just a cost problem. - The analogy works because both systems can limit choice, obscure pricing and make customers dependent on intermediaries. - His argument also points to a governance issue: employers may not fully understand how brokers, carriers and vendors are paid. - The court fight against NIPSCO gives the storm story a public-policy backdrop and reinforces his message about collective pressure. - Flowers said many employers were never told that alternatives to fully insured coverage exist.

What's next: - On Aug. 17, 2026, attorneys with Allen Law Group filed a first amended complaint seeking class-action status in Porter Superior Court 1 on behalf of Jack Tipold and several other named plaintiffs. - The complaint alleges NIPSCO’s negligent vegetation management caused foreseeable and preventable outages. - NIPSCO disputes the allegations, says vegetation-management spending has more than doubled since 2016 and says it will vigorously defend itself. - Flowers said he is providing research and consulting support to Allen Law Group and appeared with its attorneys at an Aug. 21 press conference. - The complaint does not list Flowers as a named plaintiff. - Flowers recommends that employers ask brokers three questions before the next renewal: what compensation they expect to receive, what plan-specific claims or loss-ratio data can be obtained, and whether a recommendation would change if compensation did not vary by carrier or vendor. - Flowers said employers should consider fully insured, self-funded and level-funded arrangements before renewing. - Flowers said the right arrangement can provide more useful plan data, more control over pharmacy-benefit terms and more say over adviser pay.

The bottom line: - Flowers’ message is that employers do not have to accept renewal season as a blackout. They can ask harder questions, compare funding models and demand clearer compensation disclosures before choosing their next plan.