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
Erica Hain
Employee Benefits Practice Leader
Erica Hain is a seasoned employee benefits leader with over 30 years of experience in the insurance and employee benefits industry. Throughout her career, she has led high-performing teams and driven strategic growth in a variety of organizational settings. Most recently, Erica served as the Practice Leader, Employee Benefits at Capstone Group. Her leadership journey also includes pivotal roles at Johnson, Kendall & Johnson, Geisinger Health Plan, Keystone Insurers Group, and Emerson Reid & Company.
Beyond her professional achievements, Erica has been deeply engaged in industry leadership through the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP). She served as Vice President of Region 2 on the NABIP Board of Trustees and has held numerous leadership positions across the local, state, and national levels. Her long-standing commitment to the industry has earned her multiple accolades, including the NAHU Presidential Service Award and the Region of Excellence Award.
Erica is recognized not only for her deep industry knowledge and strategic insight but also for her passion for mentorship, advocacy, and building collaborative partnerships that deliver lasting impact.
Erica is graduate of Lycoming College, Williamsport PA. She resides in Orwigsburg, PA with her husband and two dogs.
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.
EXPERT EDUCATION
Events and Webinars
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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Employee Benefits
Q3 2025 Quarterly Compliance Webinar
Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.
September 9, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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Employee Benefits
Q4 2025 Quarterly Compliance Webinar
Alera Group's quarterly employee benefits compliance roundup will help you stay current on the latest national regulatory developments impacting employers.
November 4, 2025 at 01:00 pm CT | Virtual
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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Insights
Employee Benefits
Legal Alert: IRS Issues Affordability Percentage Adjustment for 2026
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released Rev. Proc. 2025-25, which contains the inflation adjusted amounts for 2026 used to determine whether employer-sponsored coverage is “affordable” for purposes of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer shared responsibility provisions and premium tax credit program.
July 23, 2025
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Employee Benefits
Legal Alert: Enforcement of the HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Privacy Rule Vacated Nationwide
On June 18, 2025, a federal district court in Texas vacated a significant portion of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Support Reproductive Health Care Privacy (“Final Rule”), which was implemented on April 24, 2024, on a nationwide basis. The Final Rule, which was implemented in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (effectively overturning Roe v. Wade), was intended to protect the ability of individuals to receive reproductive health care when the care is provided lawfully under the circumstances without risk of an individual’s identity or health information being disclosed for purposes of state criminal, civil or administrative investigations (or for imposing liability related to lawfully providing or obtaining reproductive healthcare).
July 21, 2025
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Legal Alert: Employee Benefits Provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
On July 3, 2025, Congress passed a reconciliation bill (the “Reconciliation Act”) previously named the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but subsequently redesignated “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14.”
July 8, 2025
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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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