About Us
Forum was founded in Greenville, SC in 1999 as Palmetto Benefit Management, an independently owned insurance agency specializing in employee benefit planning and administration. In January of 2017, Forum joined 23 other entrepreneurial insurance and financial services companies across the United States to form Alera Group, an employee benefits, property/casualty, risk management and wealth management firm with approximately $1.3 Billion in annual revenue. Alera Group has grown to over 5,000 employees in over 220 local offices and is now one of top 10 independent brokerage firm in the US.
As a local office partner for Alera Group, we bring national resources such as Legal & Compliance, Actuarial & Reinsurance, Captives, Data Analytics & Benchmarking, HR Administration & Technology, and Wellness & Total Health Management to our local clients. In January 2024, Forum rebranded to Alera Group to capitalize on our commitment to Collaboration.
Meet Our Team
Laurie Winston
Firm LeaderFirm leader
Christianna Cato
Account ExecutiveAccount Executive
Heather Edwards
Consultant / Account ExecutiveConsultant / Account Executive
Stephanie Farmer
Benefits Technology ConsultantBenefits Technology Consultant
Sources
Employee Navigator (Benefit Administration System) access link.
Contact your Client Service Advocate (CSA) access link
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
HIPAA Privacy and Security Overview
Join our compliance experts for an overview of HIPAA’s Privacy and Security Rules.
April 2, 2024 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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2024 Employee Benefits Symposium
Join us (in person) as we bring together top experts covering key healthcare trends, population health management, pharmacy and more. Enjoy a great breakfast while you gain valuable takeaways for your organization.
April 16, 2024 at 08:30 am CT | Glenview IL
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Finding, Using and Transitioning Out of a PEO
Your company is small, and limited resources make it difficult to manage a robust benefits program. Time to explore outside support from a professional employer organization (PEO). But where to begin?
April 18, 2024 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Insights
Employee Benefits
Show Why Your Voluntary Benefit Offerings Make You an Employer of Choice
If you’re a business owner or benefits manager seeking to optimize your employee benefits offerings, you won’t want to miss Alera Group’s March 21 Engage webinar, "How Voluntary Benefits Inspire Employee Loyalty." During the one-hour session, our panel of Alera Group experts will discuss how voluntary benefits serve employers as well as employees, enabling employers to show they recognize the varied needs of their workforce by providing supplementary offerings in a cost-effective manner.
March 5, 2024
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Webinar: Weight-Loss Drugs and Group Health Plans | Alera Group
Rising pharmacy costs are among the chief drivers of healthcare expenses for employers and employees, thanks largely to a surge in use of drugs you’ve seen advertised in those ubiquitous commercials. Given the cost of such drugs and their mixed record of success, employers and employees should exercise caution.
February 6, 2024
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Employers, Employees and Job-Flexibility Tradeoffs
Faced with one of contemporary business’s most prominent dilemmas – allow work from home or insist on return to work? – employers and employees alike must come to terms with an axiom: Life is a series of tradeoffs. Join us on Thursday, January 18, for "The Value of Flexible Work: Alera Group’s Tradeoff Study."
January 11, 2024
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A Cautionary Tale: Self-Funded Plan Administrators Must Meaningfully and Effectively Communicate With Plan Participants and Their Providers on Appeal
This alert is of interest to employers who sponsor self-funded health plans.
January 9, 2024
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