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General Agents That Must Be Used by Highmark

Highmark is a subsidiary within the Blue Cross Blue Shield network serving customers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Washington County, Ohio. At one point in 1999, Highmark had general agent agreements with 500 different agencies that were enabled to broker its health insurance policies, but a decline in enrollment of approximately 10 percent led Highmark to reduce that number of general agents to under 100. These general agents work for different organizations under the Highmark umbrella.

  1. The Hartman Group

    • Focused in central Pennsylvania, the Hartman Group markets Highmark and other insurers' products to commercial and personal customers, offering financial planning services as well. The company also manages employee benefit plans for employers, and it has been in business since 1932.

    ARMS Insurance Group

    • ARMS Insurance Group can represent Highmark throughout western and central Pennsylvania and has had a general agent relationship with the company since 2002. ARMS is only a general agency for insurers and offers plans to groups and individuals.

    Benecon

    • Benecon represents Highmark throughout the entire state of Pennsylvania, with a contract to administer policies for groups, individuals and senior citizens. At the time of publication, Benecon offers customers (individuals who would carry Highmark policies) a web portal where they can access their benefits information at any time.

    Emerson, Reid & Company

    • Emerson, Reid & Company represents Highmark throughout all of Pennsylvania. With four different offices in Pennsylvania, the agency also reaches into other states with products from different insurers, but the company is based in Plymouth Meeting, a western suburb of Philadelphia, and has been in existence since 1974.

    Bloss & Dillard

    • For customers in Washington County, Ohio, and West Virginia, the general agency Bloss & Dillard, located in Huntington, West Virginia, markets Highmark products. Founded in 1954, Bloss & Dillard has qualified as a certified managing general agency (CMGA) -- at the time of publication, only 41 agencies in the entire United States had that title.

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