About Us
Since 1987 you may have known us as AIA, or American Insurance Administrators, or as one of our three core divisions: AIA Property & Casualty (P&C), Benefits Resource Group (BRG), or as Benefits Broker Solutions (BBS). You may have heard something about us becoming part of Alera Group in 2017. But we are all one company, and now we are aligning our name, our brand, our new look, and our new website to reflect that strong one-company story.
Work With Us
We are passionate about collaboration and growth. Enjoy working in a highly collaborative culture? Looking for an exciting environment that is constantly growing and improving? If you care about providing outstanding client service while serving local communities, then we may be looking for you.
Meet Our Team
Julie Cave
SVP and Regional Employee Benefits Practice Leader, Mid-Atlantic
As Regional Practice Leader, Julie provides oversight for Employee Benefits (EB) across all Mid-Atlantic regional offices. With 15+ years of industry experience, Julie brings unique expertise in HR technology, compliance, PPACA consulting, and small and large group benefits. She excels in fostering strong relationships with regional carriers and vendor partners, ensuring optimal outcomes for Alera Group clients.
As a strategic leader, Julie guides the direction and support of EB services, guaranteeing exceptional solutions for Alera Group Mid-Atlantic clients. Her extensive knowledge and understanding of industry intricacies enable her to navigate compliance requirements and tailor offerings to meet diverse needs. Julie’s ability to foster partnerships enhances the value delivered to clients, ensuring top-notch service in all aspects of Employee Benefits.
Chris Wert
Managing Partner
Chris is Managing Partner of the Alera Group, Harrisburg office and is a specialist in Risk Management and Property & Casualty insurance. In this role, he works closely with business owners and non-profit leaders to create and operate sustainable risk management and insurance programs. Working with clients of all sizes and classes, Chris is able to incorporate best practices from multiple industry segments for the benefit of his customers.
Chris joined the team as a Producer in 2011. Prior to coming to the agency he worked for Penn National Insurance as a Commercial Underwriter. This experience allows Chris to provide unique insight to his customers as to how insurance carriers process, analyze, evaluate, and compete for an organization’s insurance work. By anticipating carrier concerns and working with both carrier and customer to partner with one another for a common goal, he has come up with creative solutions for difficult and complex placements.
Chris earned his B.S. in Marketing from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business and holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation as well as an Associate in Risk Management with a Focus on Enterprise Risk Management (ARM-E).
In his free time Chris enjoys spending time with his fiancé Laura, is an avid skier, a devoted Penn State Football and Wrestling Fan, as well as a (very) novice but enthusiastic fly-fisherman.
Brenda Acker
Accounting Manager
Brenda is the Accounting Manager for the Mechanicsburg office and the HR Manager for our Property & Casualty division. Prior to her joining our team in 2013, she was the VP of Operations and HR Manager in the insurance division of a well-known bank. Her knowledge, professionalism, and keen attention to detail lends to a positive client and employee experience.
Brenda received her Management certification from Messiah College. When she is not working, Brenda enjoys spending time with her family and friends and is an avid golfer.
Taylor Baldwin
Marketing Manager, Small Business Unit
Taylor Baldwin is a Marketing Manager who collaborates with the Harrisburg team, and agency partners to present products and offerings to potential clients – specifically small businesses. Taylor knows how difficult owning a small business can be and works hard to share and create the best educational resources. Through webinars and educational series, he strives to make it easy for busy small business owners to learn what insurance and human resources challenges they need to troubleshoot – and directs them to the right Small Business Unit team member to solve those problems.
Taylor holds a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Music Business from Lebanon Valley College. Outside of work, he loves spending time with his family and friends and being outside with his dog Finn. His passion for music has always been with him, and he enjoys teaching local high school marching bands as well as performing with the Philadelphia Eagles drumline.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
Maximizing Impact: The Value of Voluntary Benefits for Today’s Workforce
In this session, our experts will showcase the value of voluntary benefits, from financial savings to improved retention to addressing the specific needs of their employees.
March 20, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
Sign Up
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
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
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
Employee Benefits
Employee Benefits, Prescription Drugs and the Importance of Benchmarking
Benchmarking — the process of comparing benefits among companies of similar size, industry and geographic location — is a vital exercise in designing an employee benefits program that enables a company to compete and retain talent without damaging the bottom line.
January 27, 2025
Find out more Employee Benefits
Your Guide to a Competitive, Cost-Efficient Employee Benefits Program
Alera Group’s recently released "2025 Employee Benefits Market Outlook" is a report designed to help you make informed decisions on designing a state-of-the-industry program that attracts and retains talented workers while guarding against the inefficiencies that drive up benefits spend — especially on healthcare and prescription drugs.
January 21, 2025
Find out more Employee Benefits
The Market for Employee Benefits in 2025
Join Alera Group on January 16 from 1-2 p.m. CT as we highlight the key findings in our "2025 Employee Benefits Market Outlook" and discuss how trends in employee benefits may affect your business' offerings. The insights we’ll share and the questions we’ll answer will help you determine your benefits strategy for the months ahead.
January 6, 2025
Find out more