About Us
Since 1990, Distinctive Insurance has provided insurance and employee benefits consulting services to Southern Nevada businesses.
Distinctive was founded on the belief that a benefit and risk management firm should function as an arm of the company it represents. Distinctive strives to deliver tailored insurance solutions with thoughtful strategic planning, valuable professional services, and technology-based resources.
In 2018, Distinctive joined Alera Group, one of the nation’s top 15 largest independent insurance agencies and one of the top 10 largest privately held benefits firms.
The Alera Group comprises over 80 firms and serves thousands of clients nationwide. This national presence allows Distinctive to provide employee benefits, property and casualty, and wealth management services with the resources, technical expertise and best practices of a larger national firm.
Meet Our Team
Estel Tarwater
Account Manager
Estel Tarwater, a licensed Insurance Professional comes to Alera Group | Las Vegas with more than 30 years’ experience as a large Group Sales and Client Service professional. Estel has managing group insurance products, benefits administration and assisted small business with Human Resource administration. Estel has worked for the largest managed care company in Nevada with Sierra Health Services Inc. ,and Health Plan of Nevada. In addition, Estel managed her own insurance agency that provided small businesses with group health and life insurance products and Human Resource administration. Estel graduated Rancho High School and attended the University of Phoenix concentrating in Business Administration. Estel is fluent in Spanish and has managed over 400 group open enrollments meetings for many small and large businesses in the Las Vegas valley relating to benefits administration.
Jeff Turner
Managing Partner, Employee Benefits Consultant
Jeff is the Managing Partner and co-founder at Alera Group (Formerly PWA Insurance Services). As a business owner, Jeff understands the entrepreneurial spirit. He knows what it takes to run a successful business with its challenges and rewards.
His knowledge and experience brings a much-needed leader to solve the complexities and challenges in providing health care in today's employer health market. Working closely with Owners, C-suite Executives, HR Managers, Executive Director and Board Members in creating affordable and cost-effective benefit and wellness programs.
His mission is to educate and empower employers with the right tools and resources to minimize and mitigate the risk associated with healthcare. A strong advocate for changing the delivery of healthcare in America through next-generation solutions, technology, transparency, and education to improve the lives and health of employees. Listen to Jeff's Benefits in Brief Podcast.
Book a Meeting with JeffRachel Turner
Accounting
Aleeya Villamor
Account Manager
Resources
Portal Resources
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
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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Employee Benefits
Dynamic Data: Strategies for Success
Join us for this session, as our experts will share how to utilize your organization’s data to create advanced and innovative strategies for success.
July 17, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Preparing for Open Enrollment: How to Engage and Educate Your Employees on Their Total Benefits Package
In this session, our experts will share guidance on setting yourself up for success during Open Enrollment.
August 21, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Employee Benefits
Benchmarking: How Do Your Organization’s Employee Benefits Offerings Stack Up?
For the sixth consecutive year, Alera Group is offering a valuable piece of market intelligence: our Healthcare and Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report. We’ll introduce the 2025 edition on its release date, June 26, with a one-hour webinar beginning at 1 p.m. CT.
June 5, 2025
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Employee Benefits
Reminder: PCORI Fees Due By July 31, 2025
Employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) should keep in mind the upcoming July 31, 2025 deadline for paying fees that fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) via Form 720, which was recently updated and released by the IRS.
June 3, 2025
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Benefits Captives: Your Business and What Your Competitors Are Doing
In one form or another, Captive Insurance has existed as a risk management solution for many decades — originally for property and casualty coverage and primarily for large employers. But its viability as a solution for employee benefits and for midsized businesses has increased dramatically in recent years, fueled by volatility in the insurance market in general and by the skyrocketing cost of health insurance in particular.
May 29, 2025
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Agencies Push Pause Button on Enforcement of MHPAEA 2024 Final Rule
On May 15, 2025, the Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Department (collectively, the “Agencies”) released a statement regarding the Agencies’ recent request for abeyance of a lawsuit filed by the ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that challenged certain aspects of Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) Final Rule (“2024 Final Rule”) relating to nonquantitative treatment limitation comparative analyses (“NQTL analyses”).
May 16, 2025
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