About Us
Our Firm
Founded in 1992 by K. Brian McLaughlin, Granite Group is a full-service employee benefits and risk management consulting firm. Our mission is to exceed our clients’ and their employees’ expectations as they relate to our commitment to outstanding service, innovation, ethics, and expertise. We are a customer focused company that brings personal and exceptional service to our valued clients on a consistent basis through our dedicated approach.
Our People
Built around the premise of teamwork, Granite Group employees’ broad and varied skillsets can better serve our clients unique needs. Our experienced staff will deliver tailored benefits solutions based on a structured consulting process. Our team will assess your benefits needs, survey the marketplace, set goals, provide thorough risk assessment and competitive pricing, and introduce the tools and technology to deliver the best benefit options for you and your employees. In 2023, our Manchester, NH office welcomed former Landmark Benefits employees from the Windham, NH location.
Our Presence
Developed over 30 years, GGB remains focused on our client community, and supports their business and social needs across New England. Our employees live and serve in the neighborhoods they grew up in, providing our clients with a valuable resource that understands the local needs of the community. As an Alera Group firm, our clients also benefit from the expertise and resources of a large national firm, while still maintaining the advantages of local service and relationships.
Associations
Meet Our Team
Kathy Ellis
Director of Health & Wellness(603) 296-0700 ext. 5265
Kathy joined Granite Group Benefits as the Director of Health & Wellness in November 2014. Prior to being a part of Alera, she managed comprehensive employee wellness programs for large corporations, worked in clinical health promotion and instructed undergraduate classes in health and human performance. Kathy’s passion for wellbeing goes beyond promoting healthy habits. She looks to help people find a way to feel their best every day so they can pursue the things they love. She thrives on sharing those concepts with employers to help create workplace communities that help employees thrive.
Kathy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science & Sports Studies from the University of Tampa and her Master’s degree in Human Performance from Bridgewater State University. She is a registered yoga teacher with Yoga Alliance and is also certified through the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), American Council of Exercise (ACE), the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). An outdoor enthusiast, Kathy is also a volunteer hike leader for the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) New Hampshire Chapter.
LinkedInKelly Mitchell
Senior Benefits Consultant(603) 296-0700 ext. 5261
In 2003, Kelly joined Granite Group Benefits as a Senior Client Manager. She came to Granite Group Benefits from CIGNA Healthcare where she began her career as a Team Leader in the Member Services Department. Having gained significant experience in Group Health Insurance, Kelly then took a position within CIGNA's Sales Department as a Client Strategy Specialist. Kelly has worked in Sales and Customer Service since 1998. She enjoys educating her clients as well as advocating for them, in order to ensure they get the most out of their benefit program. Kelly received her Bachelor's Degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
LinkedInKim Socha
Senior Benefits Consultant(603) 296-0700 ext. 5269
Kim joined Granite Group Benefits as a Senior Benefits Consultant in 2014. With more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, she focuses on benefits, retention, and employee satisfaction. Kim prides herself in helping her clients navigate the continuously evolving and complex healthcare industry.
In her current role as a Benefits Consultant, she works directly with local and multi-site, large employers. Her current accounts include both self-funded and fully insured programs. She helps her clients evaluate, implement and manage their employee benefit programs. Before joining GGB, Kim worked in product development and sales at Cigna.
Kim is a graduate of Tufts University and lives in Deerfield, NH with her husband and three children. She is certified in the Affordable Care Act by the National Association of Health Underwriters.
LinkedInJeanette Chasse
Senior Benefits Consultant(603) 296-0700 ext. 5264
Jeanette joined Granite Group Benefits as a Client Manager on June 1, 2013. She came to GGB with a 17 year background in the insurance industry primarily focused on Employee Benefits and individual life, health and disability insurance.
In her current role, Jeanette is responsible for assisting clients with coverage, claim, billing and enrollment questions and keeping them informed about compliance issues and deadlines. In addition, she works with existing clients on their annual renewal review process and is responsible for quoting and writing group and individual new business.
Prior to working at GGB, Jeanette worked at Eaton & Berube Insurance Agency, Inc., an independent local full-service agency for 17 years in the Financial Services Division. She resides in Mont Vernon, NH with her husband of 25 years.
LinkedInOur Community
We believe in being contributing members of the communities we serve. GGB employees, through business-sponsored and personal endeavors, volunteer their time mentoring, fundraising, and supporting multiple organizations in our local community to include:
Veterans Count, American Red Cross of Greater Manchester, Boys & Girls Club of Manchester, CareGivers, Cystic Fibrosis – Northern NE Chapter, Girl Scouts of the Green & White Mountains, Granite United Way, Greater Lakes Region Making Strides, Henniker Food Pantry, Manchester Area Human Resources Association, Meals on Wheels of Hillsborough County, New England Parkinson's Ride, and UpReach Therapeutic Equestrian Center.
Our culture rewards teamwork. Whether we are working for you, or helping in our communities, we do it together.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
How Will the Economic Outlook Affect Your Talent Decisions?
What impact will the economic forecast have on your talent decisions? Seasoned People leader Julie East will lead a discussion to help us process how the future economy will affect the talent strategies within our companies.
June 18, 2024 at 11:30 am ET | Timonium MD
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Optimize Your Benefits: A Three-Pronged Approach
Want to lower healthcare costs and enrich your benefits program at the same time? If so, this webinar is for you.
June 20, 2024 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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[Alera Engage] Benchmarking for the Win: How Does Your Benefits Program Rate?
Ask our clients about the No.1 tool that helps them develop an impactful benefits program, and they'll tell you is benchmarking.
July 18, 2024 at 02:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Insights
Employee Benefits
How To Lower Healthcare Costs While Improving Benefit Offerings
Join us on June 20 for a one-hour webinar designed to help you eliminate wasteful healthcare spending while providing your employees with benefits that attract and retain talent. We’ll take you through our three-step solution.
June 11, 2024
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Legal Alert: PCORI Fees Due by July 31, 2024
Employers that sponsor self-insured group health plans, including health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) should keep in mind the upcoming July 31, 2024, 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 7, 2024
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Legal Alert: CMS Redesigns the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Program Beginning in 2025
As a result of the changes to Medicare Part D under §11201 of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, on April 1, 2024, CMS released Final Redesign Program Instructions (“Final Program Instructions”) for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, which are effective starting in 2025.
May 30, 2024
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Legal Alert: HIPAA Privacy Rules Amended to Require Protection of Reproductive Healthcare Information
On April 26, 2024, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a Final Rule amending the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
May 15, 2024
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