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
Baron Keefer
Chief Operating Officer, Property & Casualty
Baron is the Chief Operating Officer for the Property and Casualty division in the Mechanisburg. In addition to managing the operations, he is also a Senior Producer responsible for managing and growing a significant book of commercial clients. Baron specializes in construction, but he also handles clients in numerous other industry segments. He has expertise in traditional insurance products, as well as large deductibles, retros, self-insurance, and captives. Baron utilizes a consultative type of approach to analyzing his clients’ exposures to risk and determines the best solution to address them.
Baron has been with the team for over 20 years and previously served as a Regional Claims Manager in the insurance industry for several years. This experience has aided his ability to serve clients with a strong claims background and understanding of the coverage afforded under the insurance contract.
Baron is a licensed Property and Casualty agent and he also holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, the Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist (CRIS) designation as well as a Master’s In Business Administration (MBA) with a focus in Management from Loyola University.
Sierra Kepner
Assistant Account Director, Employee Benefits
Sierra serves as an Assistant Account Director for Employee Benefit’s division. In this role, she is known to deliver outstanding customer service to our broker partners and clients through processing of new sales paperwork, renewal changes, proposal delivery, and issue resolution. Sierra also provides support to small-group clients and group administrators while assisting the Consultant on the strategic renewal process for these valuable clients.
Sierra believes in a collaborative approach to delivering the highest quality service to all those she interacts with on a daily basis. Her prior experience as a supervisor in the family medical field and a client support specialist in the insurance industry making her an exceptional resource for her clients. Sierra’s experience is further enhanced by a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Messiah College and holding a Resident Producer License in Health, Life, Accident and Fixed Annuities.
Jess Kier
Account Administration Manager, Small Business Unit
Jessica serves as the Account Administration Manager for the Small Business Unit (SBU), where she is responsible for servicing small group clients and the overall client experience. She is the face and voice to the SBU operation, is quick to troubleshoot any technical issue, and is determined to ensure things are done right. Many of the positive client testimony recorded are received through their direct experience working with Jess. She has held various positions in the insurance and employee benefits field for nearly 20 years, is a licensed Life & Health agent in PA, and holds the aPHR certification in Human Resources.
Jess graduated from Lebanon Valley College in 2003 with a degree in Historical Communications. She currently lives in Wellsville, PA with her husband and two boys, and loves to read, cook and garden in her spare time.
Michele Klump, CIC
Account Manager, Large Commercial Accounts
Michele joined the team in March of 2014 as a Large Commercial Account Executive and brought with her 28 years of insurance agency experience. She has been a licensed insurance agent since 1987 and received her CIC (Certified Insurance Counselor) designation in 2002. Her responsibilities include being the main point of contact for clients regarding any questions, processing changes in coverage to their current program, marketing of new and renewal business, processing of insurance proposals, developing exposure basis history and loss history analysis, review of policies and endorsements for accuracy, claims support and establishing relationships with the insurance carriers.
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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