About Us
Since 1999, Champion Benefits has been a trusted partner for our clients. Led by Neil Phillips, who has been consistently recognized as a Top Employee Benefit Advisor by Atlanta Business Chronicle/NAIFA, our mission is to transform the client experience by providing a greater depth and breadth of cutting-edge tools and resources, personalized solutions, innovative thinking, and top tier collaboration.
Our highly vetted and experienced benefits team has become known as a leading curator of advanced benefit solutions. The founding aspirational vision was reflected in “Champion” being part of our name, which means “to work for or fight for the cause of another; to contend for another’s rights.” This continues to undergird our approach and commitment to our clients.
In 2018, Champion Benefits joined Alera Group as the first firm based in Georgia. Since then, Alera Group has grown to become the 11th largest independent insurance and financial services firm in the nation with over 4,200 employees, 180 firms, and thousands of clients across the country.
Throughout this evolution, what remains consistent is holding our clients at the core of our focus. Which is to say, we do employee benefits with you and your employees wellbeing and success at the center of all we do. The Way It Should Be.
Meet Our Team
Sydney Cain
Account Manager
Sydney joined Alera Group in 2023 and has over 10 years of customer service experience in the insurance, staffing and technology fields. Sydney’s passion lies in helping others, and she takes pride in delivering exceptional service with empathy, understanding, and efficiency. With a degree in business and a customer-centric approach, Sydney is dedicated to making a positive impact with everyone she encounters while assisting in day to day questions and long term projects.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
HIPAA Privacy and Security Overview
Join our compliance experts for an overview of HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules. During this webinar, we'll review the different types of entities subject to HIPAA, take an in-depth look at protected health information (PHI), individual rights under HIPAA and what to do when there is a breach of PHI.
April 11, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
Sign Up
Employee Benefits
Balancing Cost and Care: Could a Captive solution be the right fit for you?
In this session, our experts will discuss how Captive solutions work and what you need to consider for your own group’s needs.
April 17, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
Sign Up
Employee Benefits
Q2 2025 Quarterly Compliance Webinar
Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.
May 6, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
Sign Up
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Employee Benefits
Getting the Most From Your Voluntary Benefit Offerings
Join Alera Group on Thursday, March 20, as we present the next in our Engage series of webinars, "Maximizing Impact: The Value of Voluntary Benefits for Today’s Workforce."
March 6, 2025
Find out more
Employee Benefits
Building Connections To Support Employee Mental Health
Mental Health Awareness Month begins in May, but to emphasize mental wellbeing as a year-round priority, Alera Group is getting an early start on distributing our new Mental Health Awareness Toolkit. Designed and refined by our Wellbeing team, the Toolkit is an employer resource to help you and your employees adopt healthy activities, build social connections and erode stigmas that have long hampered discussion of mental health.
March 4, 2025
Find out more Employee Benefits
Weighty Matter: Obesity, GLP-1s and the Rising Cost of Healthcare
Obesity and health problems associated with it — including heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, several types of cancer, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and more — are primary factors that must be considered as employers seek to contain healthcare costs for their employers, as well as for themselves.
February 26, 2025
Find out more Employee Benefits
Reminder: RxDC Reporting Due June 1
With the 2024 reference year RxDC reporting deadline approaching in June, plan sponsors should refamiliarize themselves with the reporting requirements. The 2024 reference year RxDC Reporting Instructions have been released, though there were no changes to the reporting requirements or data elements from last year.
February 10, 2025
Find out more