About Us
At CBSI we are uniquely equipped to help you unlock the engaged employee, because we’ve helped companies just like yours solve this problem without creating more cost. Unlike other insurance brokers, CBSI engages in a multi-step process throughout the year to listen, learn and clarify your employee concerns, creating solutions that align your company’s benefits with their wants and needs. But our approach goes beyond benefit solutions. Through experience, we have come to understand that educating your employees on their benefits is often more important than the actual benefits themselves. Better solutions together with communication unlocks the engaged employee.
For some this seems counter-intuitive, but it is a conversation you should not avoid. 96% of employees who are satisfied with their benefits are satisfied with their jobs, making tailored benefits and increased communication the best methods to shore up your bottom line. Attacking and solving the ‘unhappy employee syndrome’ that many companies experience will give you an advantage over competitors while slashing your investments in recruiting, hiring and training.
Great leaders see opportunity where others don’t. Real progress and real change for your company can only come with your vision. From your vantage point you are constantly looking for the next advantage, always understanding that there is always more to learn.
Let us show you how to make your business better, in unexpected ways.

Meet Our Team
Vladimir St. Phard
President & CEO
Favorite Food: Buffalo Wings!
Favorite Places & Flavors: Jughandle Inn, Silk City Diner, Skelly’s High Point Pub, St. Martin, Hot Blue Ranch, Garlic & Asian Chili, and Thai. Honorable mention goes to pizza, burgers, and my special brisket.
Favorite Musician: Jonathan Butler
Other Loves: I love simple fun things like spending time with my friends and family, watching sports, and, of course, consuming Buffalo wings.
Why CBSI: My passion is to help businesses truly connect with their employees. Health insurance and other benefits play big roles in doing just that. By using your employee benefits as a tool and not a cost center, you can reduce employee stress and increase productivity and retention…. Plus, it just feels right!
Rachelle St. Phard
Chief Administrative Officer
Favorite Food: Lobster
Favorite Vacation Spot: St. Martin
Favorite Song: Oceans by Hillsong
Other Loves: I am passionate about volunteering and doing what I can to help others. I coordinate the CBSI sponsored annual charity Christmas party each year for The Word In Action International Ministries, and I am working year-round to make that event something really special for the kids.
Why CBSI: I love problem-solving and helping people find the best solutions to their challenges. Whether it’s working with our employment benefit specialists to solve a client’s problem or juggling vendors and budgets for our charity events, taking the pieces apart and finding more effective alternative paths to resolution is my specialty.
Donna Herrman
Vice President
Favorite Vacation Spot: Any beach anywhere!
Favorite Food: Sushi
Favorite Song: This is amazing Grace by Phil Wickham
Why CBSI: I am passionate about helping people navigate the healthcare maze during some of the most difficult times of their lives, and I specialize in the appeals process. Did you know that insurance companies don’t always make the final decision on your benefits claims? Every member has the right to file a complaint with the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, and it’s my job to ensure employees are covered, healthy, and engaged to the process and value of their benefits.
Alexis Swart
Bookkeeper & Account Manager
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Movie: Grease
Favorite Vacay Spot: Surf City, NJ!
Why CBSI: For the past 10 years I have enjoyed working at CBSI, not only because it’s such a short commute from my home, but because I work with such amazing people – in the office and with our clients. Our teamwork is outstanding at CBSI. We collaborate and elevate each other in the name of finding the best resolutions for our clients, and because of it, our customers know they can count on us.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
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
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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
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Employee Benefits
2025 Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report: How Does Your Benefits Program Stack Up?
In this session, our experts will dive into the results of our annual, market-leading benchmarking survey.
June 26, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Employee Benefits
Deadline for San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance is approaching
The annual San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (SF HCSO) reporting by employers that have employees who work in the City of or County of San Francisco is due by May 2, 2025. Employers should be aware of the upcoming deadline even if they are not located in San Francisco.
The SF HCSO requires large and medium-sized employers to provide covered employees with benefits equal to or greater than the expenditure rate. Covered employees are those who have been employed for more than 90 days and who regularly work at least eight hours per week within the City of and County of San Francisco.
April 14, 2025
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Webinar: Is Captive Insurance the Right Solution for Your Business?
Join Alera Group on Thursday, April 17, for "Balancing Cost and Care: Could a Captive solution be the right fit for you?", a webinar on self-insuring to reduce group Medical Insurance costs and other business expense. Our experts will discuss how Captive solutions work and what you need to consider for your own group’s needs.
April 3, 2025
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Benchmarking’s Role in Voluntary Benefits Program Design
Alera Group’s Employee Benefits team recognizes that workforce composition varies from business to business, from industry to industry, from region to region. And, at a time when the U.S. workforce is more generationally diverse than ever before, the needs and priorities of one generation can be very different from those of another. This is where voluntary benefits — also known as supplemental, workplace or optional benefits — become so vital to an organization’s offerings strategy. Alera Group’s "Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Reports" take an in-depth look at the benefits businesses provide, the options they offer and the strategies they use to manage costs.
March 31, 2025
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HIPAA Webinar: Required Training and Valuable Refresher
Whether meeting federal training requirements or simply refreshing their knowledge base, professionals whose role includes HIPAA administration will benefit from participating in Alera Group’s annual HIPAA Privacy and Security Overview, a one-hour webinar scheduled for Friday, April 11.
March 27, 2025
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