National insurance and financial services firm Alera Group has acquired two more benefit brokerages, Benefits Planning Services and IMG Benefits Group, bringing its total number of acquisitions since its launch in January 2017 to 23. The firm began with 24 companies coming together to form Alera. Now, 47 firms have been brought under the brand.
Benefit Planning Services, located in Norwalk, Conn., offers a range of products from group health insurance to executive benefits packages. IMG Benefits Group, headquartered in Houston, offers group insurance that it tailors for individual clients. The companies did not release the terms of the deals.
Alan Levitz, CEO of Alera Group, says that acquired firms say good things about their new home, and, as word of mouth spreads, it has helped speed deals with other brokers.
“The story they tell is about our collaborative culture and our desire to share resources across the enterprise in order to enhance the client experience while embracing the entrepreneurial spirit of the individual firm,” Levitz says. “It is also apparent that our ability to help drive equity deeper into firms has a significant impact on the decisions of the firms that choose to help us build a great company.”
While these brokerages will now operate under the Alera banner, Michael Gluck, vice president of marketing at Alera Group, says the companies won’t lose their individual identities. “We do not acquire firms to simply swallow them up, removing their unique culture in the process,” Gluck says. “Rather, we want to see these brokerages continue to provide their expertise to their specific niches, whether be in their respective geographies or industry verticals.”
Karin Landry, managing partner of Spring Consulting Group – who was acquired in February by Alera – backs that up. “Alera Group’s management team allows organizations to remain as they are while uniting them to work together,” Landry says. “They have a collaborative approach and help give firms a hand up to ensure that we all succeed as one.”
