Most companies treat payroll as a cost and benefits as a checkbox. GOAT Insurance Partners shows business owners how to use payroll as an asset and benefits as a strategy — so your best people stay, your best candidates say yes, and your business runs stronger from the inside out.
Most business owners are either paying more in payroll taxes than they need to, offering benefits their employees barely notice, or both. The opportunity to do better has always existed — it just hasn't been shown to you.
Picture this: your payroll tax bill is lower, your employees take home more without a raise, your best people aren't being recruited away, and your benefits package is genuinely competitive — for less than you're spending today. That's not a pitch. That's what a well-built benefits strategy actually delivers.
Through a simple pre-tax restructuring of how benefit contributions are processed, most companies can reduce their FICA liability by thousands of dollars annually — money that can help offset the cost of a stronger benefits program.
Your best employees have options. Your best candidates are evaluating you before they ever walk in the door. When your benefits are weak, people leave — and you never know how many never applied. A strategic benefits package is one of the most powerful competitive tools a business owner has. Your people stay. Your best candidates say yes. Your culture improves. Most businesses have never been shown how to build one that actually performs.
GOAT is 100% independent — which means we access every major carrier and every available solution, and build a strategy around what's genuinely right for your business. Not what any one carrier happens to offer.
Most businesses are running benefits programs that underserve their employees and overspend on payroll taxes at the same time. We've seen it across every size business in this market. We know what's missing, we know where the money is going, and we know how to fix both.
Years in the Employee Benefits IndustryDeep experience across every size business in this market — from first-time benefit buyers to established regional employers.
Completely Carrier IndependentWe're beholden to no carrier. Every recommendation is built on what's right for you — full market access, no conflicts of interest.
Sections 125 & 105 SpecialistsWe build strategies around IRS tax code that most businesses have never been introduced to. Those savings can help make stronger programs possible.
No obligation. No complexity. A clear path from where you are to where your business should be.
Share your workforce size, current benefits, and goals. We listen first — every strategy starts with understanding your specific situation.
We run a benefits gap assessment, map every available solution to your business across all carriers, and identify your FICA savings opportunity.
We handle enrollment, employee communication, and assist with new hire onboarding — and we're there when your people need claim assistance or have questions about their coverage. You get a strategy that runs, and a partner who stays engaged year over year.
For qualifying businesses, restructuring how benefit contributions are processed reduces taxable payroll — and every dollar off that number is a dollar your company stops paying FICA on. For many businesses, that's thousands to tens of thousands of dollars per year returning to the bottom line. We'll show you exactly what your numbers look like.
Every solution below is evaluated independently — we recommend it because it's right for you, not because a carrier pays us to.
PPO, HMO, and HDHP plans across all major carriers — compared, negotiated, and placed based on what works best for your workforce and budget. We do the work. You get the best option.
Carrier IndependentAccident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and short-term disability — layering cash directly into your employees' hands when the unexpected happens. These benefits help prevent your team from being derailed by out-of-pocket medical costs and everyday obligations like rent, groceries, and car payments. Employee-paid, zero direct cost to the business — and a great place to start for companies offering benefits for the first time.
$0 Direct Employer CostA wellness benefit program that layers on top of your existing medical plan, making it richer and more affordable. Qualifying employees typically see an increase in their take-home pay. The business generates payroll tax savings that make the program cost-neutral — and drives real money back to your bottom line. That money is going somewhere. We help make sure it stays with you. We'll show you what it looks like for your workforce.
FICA Tax SavingsThe benefits employees use every year. Dental and vision coverage drives daily satisfaction, reduces absenteeism, and signals that your company takes care of its people — at every level.
High UtilizationGroup term life, whole life, guaranteed issue, and spouse and child coverage — giving your employees and their families a meaningful safety net at group rates, without the barriers of individual underwriting. These are the benefits employees remember when life gets hard, and the ones that signal your company genuinely takes care of its people.
Risk ManagementThe Individual Coverage HRA gives employers a defined contribution approach to health benefits — you set the budget, employees shop their own individual coverage. No group plan headaches, no renewal surprises, full cost control. A modern alternative to traditional group health that works especially well for distributed teams and businesses in transition.
Defined ContributionAs a business owner, your financial exposure is different from your employees'. Executive benefits are designed specifically for that reality — protecting what you've built and creating wealth that conventional plans don't reach.
Schedule an Executive Benefits Review →Higher face-amount coverage for executives — no medical exam required up to plan limits. Significant protection for key personnel and business continuity.
Owner-specific disability with 90-day elimination periods and monthly income replacement structured around your actual compensation — not a group plan default.
Life insurance that funds the buyout of a partner's interest — protecting the business, the surviving owner, and the departing owner's family from an unplanned transition.
Tax-deferred cash value growth, borrowable tax-free. Creditor-protected wealth building that functions as an alternative asset class — typically not discussed in standard benefits conversations.
David Sweigard has spent 25 years in the employee and executive benefits industry — building books of business and production teams across two states, beginning in Pennsylvania and ultimately planting deep roots in Florida. He learned the business from the inside out, inside the traditional carrier system, at every level of the market.
After building what the traditional carrier model promised and discovering what it actually delivered, David founded GOAT Insurance Partners with a clear mandate: build an independent firm with full market access — one that builds strategies around what's right for the client, not what any single carrier offers.
His core conviction: most businesses are sitting on a payroll strategy they've never been shown. GOAT exists to change that — one business at a time.
Small businesses carry enormous responsibility for the people they employ. GOAT Insurance Partners exists to make sure the benefits and payroll strategies available to large corporations are equally available — and equally effective — for businesses of every size.
Schedule Your Free ConsultationNo carrier owns us. Every recommendation is driven by what's right for the client — full market access, zero conflicts of interest.
We show businesses how to use payroll as a financial asset — reducing tax liability and funding benefits through the savings already inside the payroll cycle.
Your benefits package is either a competitive weapon or a compliance checkbox. We make sure it's the former — attracting talent, retaining people, and building loyalty.
Many of our solutions begin with zero direct employer cost. We identify savings inside your existing payroll structure that can help make stronger benefits more accessible.
We build long-term relationships with every client. From enrollment through renewal, we're there — proactively, not reactively.
If something isn't right for your business, we say so. That honesty is the foundation of every client relationship we've built — and kept.
Twenty-five years inside the traditional carrier model taught David Sweigard one undeniable truth: the system is built for the carrier — not for the agent, and not for the client. GOAT was founded to offer a different path.
"Everything I was told about owning my business in the traditional carrier model was untrue. I've watched agents spend years building something real — only to have it restructured out from under them overnight. I built GOAT to give agents a different path — one where independence, integrity, income, and ownership actually go together."
— David Sweigard, President & FounderNo production quotas. No carrier loyalty requirements. Access to every major carrier and supplemental platform — so you always have the right answer for your client, not a pre-approved one.
The Pre-Tax Wellness Plan, executive benefits, and enhanced voluntary programs give you conversations and capabilities that most agents in this market simply don't have. You bring something different to every table.
GOAT is not a captive shop. We partner with serious benefits professionals who want to build their own book with real backing — access to resources, strategy support, and a principal who has built production teams in two states from scratch.
From carrier contracting to Section 125 plan documents, compliance review, and enrollment support — the infrastructure is here. You focus on building relationships. We handle the machinery behind them.
The first step is a conversation. We learn your business, identify your opportunity, uncover what your employees are missing, and show you exactly what a smarter benefits strategy looks like — in real numbers, for your company.
Imagine this: your payroll tax bill is lower, your employees take home more without a raise, your benefits package is genuinely competitive, and the whole program costs your company less than it does today. That's not a pitch — that's what a well-built benefits strategy actually delivers.
Share a few details and we'll put together a custom strategy — showing you where your payroll tax opportunity sits, which programs fit your workforce, and what's available at no direct cost to your company.
This isn't a pitch. It's a conversation. We learn your situation first — then we build around it.
Custom payroll tax analysis — we identify your FICA savings opportunity based on your actual workforce.
Benefits gap assessment — we identify what your employees are missing and which programs fit.
Executive benefits review — programs designed for owners that most brokers never bring up.
No obligation — we build long-term relationships, not quick transactions.
David Sweigard will reach out within one business day to start building your custom benefits strategy. No obligation — just a conversation about your business.
Whether you're an established producer looking for independence or a newer agent ready to build something real — GOAT offers a platform, a product suite, and a principal who has done it before.
No pressure. No recruitment pitch. A direct conversation with David Sweigard about whether this is the right fit for where you want to go.
Full carrier independence — no production quotas or captive requirements.
Differentiated product suite — Pre-Tax Wellness Plans, exec benefits, enhanced voluntary.
Back-office support — contracting, compliance, plan documents, enrollment.
Principal who's been there — 25 years, two state teams built from scratch.
David Sweigard will reach out personally within one business day. No recruiters — just a direct conversation about whether GOAT is the right platform for where you want to take your career.