Alera Group is an independent national insurance and financial services firm formed in 2017 through the merger of 24 entrepreneurial agencies. Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, the firm operates across employee benefits, property and casualty insurance, and financial services. Private equity backing from Genstar Capital has helped fund a run of acquisitions that turned Alera into one of the largest privately held brokerages in the country.
Website: aleragroup.com
Head office: Three Parkway North, Suite 500, Deerfield, IL 60015
Founded: 2017
Company type: private; backed by Genstar Capital and Flexpoint Ford
Regions served: United States, nationwide
Twenty-four independent employee benefits, property and casualty, risk management, and wealth management firms came together on day one to form the company. Genstar Capital backed the deal, and Marsh, Berry & Company advised on the merger, creating what was then the 14th-largest privately held insurance firm in the country. Since then, the firm has grown through a steady string of acquisitions. Key milestones include:
The 2025 RCP rebrand closed out a multi-year integration and reflected a broader pattern: the company folds acquired firms into one platform rather than running them as separate brands.
The firm groups its offerings into three main practice areas, each built out through years of acquisitions and internal specialization. Its core lines include:
Alera says it draws on specialists across its network of offices, matching client needs with the right expert regardless of location.
Revenue at the company grew from roughly $150 million at its 2017 founding to $1.6 billion in annual gross revenue by the end of 2025, with more than 4,600 colleagues across the network. That growth has come almost entirely through acquisitions layered on top of organic expansion within each practice area.
Genstar Capital’s continued backing gives the broker capital to keep pursuing deals, while its collaborative structure lets newly joined firms retain local decision-making. The private equity-focused risk work absorbed from RCP has also positioned the group to serve a growing base of private equity and portfolio-company clients, a niche that has become a meaningful part of its specialty book.
The company says its model depends on keeping the entrepreneurial character of each acquired firm intact rather than folding every office into one uniform brand voice. It describes its culture as one built on collaboration between practice areas and offices, with local teams pooling specialist knowledge on behalf of shared clients. Alera Group also says it prioritizes a workplace culture of respect and belonging, framing varied perspectives among its colleagues as a driver of better client solutions.
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