Real Affiliated Services

Healthcare, Benefits, and Financial Protection for Real Estate Professionals

Real estate agents are independent contractors. They are their own HR department, their own benefits administrator, and their own safety net. The industry has known for decades that this structural reality creates financial vulnerability for agents, specifically in healthcare access. The National Association of Realtors estimates that up to one-third of its members go without health insurance coverage every year, not because they do not want it, but because individual market health insurance is expensive, hard to navigate, and often inadequate for the coverage real estate professionals actually need.

Real Affiliated Services addresses this gap directly. Real partnered with Global Benefits Partners in the United States and Sterling Capital Brokers in Canada to give Real agents access to group-rate healthcare and benefits that have historically been available only to salaried employees at large employers. The group purchasing power of Real's 33,200-plus agent network translates into meaningfully more competitive pricing than any individual agent could access on their own.

U.S. Healthcare Benefits — Global Benefits Partners

Through its partnership with Global Benefits Partners, Real offers U.S. agents the ability to access and purchase from a curated selection of group-rate insurance products. The available products include medical, dental, and vision insurance; voluntary benefits; disability income insurance; and term life insurance. Group rates available through the program can represent savings of up to 35 percent compared to what the same agent would pay for equivalent individual market coverage, depending on the plans and coverage levels selected.

The program is educational as well as transactional. Global Benefits Partners provides agents with guidance on evaluating plans, understanding coverage terms, and selecting the combination of benefits that fits their specific situation: single, family, with dependents, with existing health conditions, or approaching Medicare eligibility. Agents who have never had to think about benefits structure because they were always covered by an employer's plan often find this guidance as valuable as the price savings.

Available Coverage Types

Medical coverage through the Real Affiliated Services program covers the spectrum of major medical needs: preventive care, specialist visits, hospitalization, prescription drugs, emergency care, and diagnostic services. Dental coverage is available both as a standalone benefit and as a complement to medical coverage. Vision coverage is available similarly. Disability income insurance provides income replacement protection for agents who become unable to work due to illness or injury, a particularly relevant coverage type for a profession where an agent's income is entirely dependent on their physical ability to work with clients. Term life insurance provides family financial protection at group rates that individual purchasers cannot typically access outside of employer-sponsored programs.

Mental Health Support Resources

Real has made mental health support resources available to its agent community as part of the affiliated services ecosystem. The pressures of an independent, commission-based profession, income volatility, the emotional intensity of high-stakes transactions, and the challenge of navigating difficult market conditions create genuine mental health demands that are specific to the profession. Real's commitment to providing access to mental health resources reflects an acknowledgment that agent well-being is inseparable from agent performance and retention.

Canada — Sterling Capital Brokers

For Real agents in Canada, the affiliated services partnership is with Sterling Capital Brokers, which provides access to supplemental health and dental insurance, wellbeing programs, and income replacement insurance. The structure parallels the U.S. offering in its philosophy, group purchasing power applied to coverage categories that independent contractors historically cannot access at group rates, adapted to the specific Canadian insurance market and regulatory environment.

Who Qualifies

Real agent benefits eligibility is determined by the agent's status with Real. Agents must be in good standing and have completed the onboarding process. Coverage can be purchased individually agents can select one type of coverage without being required to purchase all types. Family plan options are available. There is no waiting period linked to open enrollment for many products, meaning agents can access coverage outside of the traditional January enrollment window that often causes independent contractors to go uninsured while waiting for the next enrollment period. Detailed eligibility information and plan options are available through the Real agent support portal and through Real's healthcare benefits resource pages.

Why It Matters

The benefits question is one of the most important practical questions for any real estate agent who is seriously evaluating their brokerage options. The financial model at Real is compelling in terms of commission structure and wealth-building programs. But for an agent with a family, with health conditions to manage, or with the knowledge that a single serious illness could devastate their financial position without adequate coverage, the question of 'what do I do about benefits?' is equally important. Real Affiliated Services does not solve every healthcare challenge that independent contractors face in the United States, but it addresses the access problem with more seriousness and more practical resources than any other national brokerage has assembled.

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