You are building benefits for the first time.
Start with the people, the budget, and what a useful package would look like before anyone picks a carrier.
Independent benefits advisor · Austin area, TX
Matthew Ragudo. Benefits your people are glad to have.
Independent benefits advisor for employers along the Austin to Bell County corridor. I work from the Austin area, bring the market to you, and stay for enrollment, employee questions, and the work that continues through the year, so HR has backup.
Raku is not a carrier. This site is education. No savings result is promised. A real number still needs your census.
Home baseAustin area, Texas
CorridorAustin to Bell County
AccessMajor carriers
SupportYear-round
I handle Group Health Dental & Vision Voluntary Telehealth & Wellness
Who I help
Owners and HR who want people glad to have the benefits.
Take care of employees, compete for good people, and keep costs under control. I help employers along the Austin to Bell County corridor get more people participating, including people who already have coverage elsewhere.
The current package needs to keep up.
Improve what you have for growth or a potential exit, without dumping the benefits work on HR.
You inherited a plan after a deal.
Take over the existing arrangement, see what still fits, and give employees a person for questions.
Your renewal went up.
Read it together, bring the market, and fit the strategy to your goals before the deadline.
Keeping your medical plan this year? Add benefits without touching medical.
Why Raku
I bring the market. Then I stay.
You get me, not a 1-800 queue, after enrollment as well as before. No separate broker fee for larger groups. For the smallest groups, the broker fee is $1,000 a year.
I bring the market
I start with what is working and where you want more help, then walk costs and tradeoffs. I work for you, not the carrier. I compare major carriers and funding options around your budget and your people.
HR has backup
I help with enrollment, new hires, departures, and plan changes. Midyear joiners get help too. Employee questions come to me and my team.
Questions come to us
Is my doctor covered? How do I get a new card? Who can help me file this claim? Those land with me and my team, not on the owner's desk alone.
What I handle
Group health and the benefits that sit beside it.
Each lane begins with fit and scope. Availability, eligibility, price, and final terms are never assumed. Medicare lives in the top menu, not in this grid.
01
Group Health Insurance
First package, a better one for growth or exit, or a plan inherited after an acquisition. Market review, enrollment, and year-round questions.
Explore this lane 02Dental & Vision
Separate coverages from major medical, with networks, waiting periods, and maximums read from the plan documents.
Explore this lane 03Voluntary Benefits
Added coverages such as accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, life, and short-term disability, when the package can include them.
Explore this lane 04Telehealth & Wellness
Virtual care and wellness options when the market and package support them. Not a promise of the same access for every employer.
Explore this laneServing employers from the Austin area
Local home base along the Austin to Bell County corridor.
How the work runs
Hear the people. Bring the market. Stay.
I bring the market to your business, then stay for enrollment and everything after. I can also help employers outside of Texas. Available plans still depend on the employer, location, and effective date.
- 1
Hear what is working
Who you employ, what the current package does, and where you want more help. Then we walk costs and tradeoffs.
- 2
I bring the market
I compare major carriers and funding options around the budget and the people. I work for you, not one carrier.
- 3
Enroll with a person
Group presentations and individual conversations. I help employees enroll, including people who already have coverage elsewhere.
- 4
Stay with HR
New hires, departures, plan changes, and midyear joiners. Insurance questions and carrier follow-ups land with me and my team.
Who you get
You work with me.
I came to this work as a financial planner for business owners, then an insurance agency owner, and now an independent group benefits advisor. The through-line is access: bringing the market to owners who want to take care of their people and their communities. I compare major carriers and funding options, help people enroll, and stay with HR for the questions that continue through the year.
More about meWhat documents control
I stay with the work. Carriers stay with their terms.
Raku is not a carrier. This site is education. Carrier and plan documents still control their own terms.
What I own
The Raku broker relationship
- Bringing the market around your budget and your people
- Enrollment help and year-round employee questions
- Working with HR on new hires, departures, and plan changes
- Explaining known tradeoffs and unknowns
- Following through on Raku commitments
Outside-party responsibilities
Documented scope and delivered work
- Carrier and plan documents govern their stated terms. Carriers remain responsible for underwriting, coverage, and claims decisions
- Legal, tax, accounting, and medical professionals remain responsible for advice and representations delivered within their agreed scope
- Administrators and providers remain responsible for agreed implementation and administration
- Each outside party remains responsible for its agreed scope, representations, and delivered work under its own agreement
- No outcome is guaranteed.
Before you call
A few things worth knowing now
Where do you work?
Home base is the Austin area, Texas. I serve employers along the Austin to Bell County corridor: Austin metro through Killeen, Belton, Temple, and Bell County. I can also work with employers outside of Texas. Availability still depends on the employer, location, and effective date.
Is Raku an insurance carrier?
No. Raku Insurance Advisors is my broker relationship with you. Any policy, plan, or program remains subject to the terms and decisions of the party that provides it.
Do you work for one carrier?
No. I work for you. I bring the market to you and compare major carriers and funding options around your budget and your people. Available carriers, networks, and plan designs still depend on the employer, location, and effective date.
What happens after enrollment?
I stay. Group presentations, individual conversations, new hires, departures, and plan changes come back to me and my team. Employee questions such as whether a doctor is covered, how to get a new card, or who can help with a claim should not sit on the owner's desk or go to a 1-800 number alone.
How does the broker fee work?
For larger groups, there is no separate broker fee. Compensation comes from the carrier. For the smallest groups, the broker fee is $1,000 per year. That is not a promise about premiums, savings, or any other outcome.
What can you bring to my business?
I compare major carriers and funding options, bring the market to your business, help people enroll, and stay with HR. I can help employers outside of Texas, too. Available plans still depend on the employer, location, and effective date.
Can Raku guarantee savings, coverage, or approval?
No. Cost, eligibility, underwriting, coverage, availability, and outcomes depend on the facts, governing documents, jurisdiction, and responsible provider.
Is the information on this site individualized advice?
No. Site content is general education. An individualized review begins only after I confirm the question, applicable scope, and information needed.
A clear next conversation
Talk through the people, the budget, and who answers after enrollment.
Start with the coverage-cost quiz, book 30 minutes, or call. I will say whether I can help and who owns each next step.