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
Resources
Employee Navigator (Benefit Administration System) access link.
Contact your Client Service Advocate (CSA) access link
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
Employee Benefits
Supporting Women’s Health Month: Trending Employee Benefits
In this session, we’ll talk about how employers are helping female employees and dependents be their best through every phase of life: From fertility, maternal care and parenting to peri/menopause, caregiving and mental health.
May 16, 2024 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Q2 Compliance Update
Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.
June 4, 2024 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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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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Insights
Employee Benefits
This Mental Health Awareness Month, ‘Run Your Own Race’
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Here are tips and resources to help you get started on the route to a happier, healthier you.
April 25, 2024
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Webinar: The Ins and Outs of PEOs
Providing employees with a robust benefits program is vital to attracting and retaining staff while growing an organization, but many small and medium-sized businesses lack the resources and time necessary to manage such a program. Professional employer organizations (PEOs) offer a solution. Alera Group's April 15 webinar, "Finding, Using and Transitioning Out of a PEO" will address the basics and help you strategize.
April 4, 2024
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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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