Alliant Insurance Services has appointed Dave Brennan (pictured) as senior vice president within its employee benefits group, the latest in a sustained Midwest build-out that has accelerated with two benefits hires announced in three days.
Brennan spent 39 years at MetLife, most recently as customer unit vice president, before joining Alliant in September 2026. He will work with employers throughout the Midwest on benefits strategy, with a focus on large-market and Fortune 1000 accounts. His background spans medical, pharmacy, disability and absence, life, dental, and voluntary benefits across multiple distribution channels, including general agency, affinity, PEO, and traditional employer models.
Kevin Overbey, president of Alliant Employee Benefits, said Brennan’s ability to combine financial strategy with a collaborative approach would add value to the firm’s Midwest client base.
Karen Spangler joined the same team on October 27 as vice president, two days before Brennan’s appointment was announced.
The back-to-back hires continue a pattern Alliant has been executing across the Midwest for several years, adding benefits consultants in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and the broader region as it builds advisory capacity for large employers navigating sustained cost increases.
Mercer’s 2025 National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans projected total health benefit costs per employee would rise 6.5% in 2026, the highest increase since 2010, while Aon projected the average employer health cost to surpass $17,000 per employee this year. Those pressures have driven employer demand for consultants who can work across the full spectrum of benefits design and cost containment, not just place coverage.
Brennan’s carrier background is a relevant detail in that context. Advisors who have spent decades on the insurer side bring a working knowledge of how products are structured, priced, and administered that is harder to develop from a purely brokerage-side career. Alliant has been recruiting that kind of expertise into its Employee Benefits Group as employer clients seek more technical depth from their benefits advisors, and the pace of those hires has accelerated in 2026 alongside rising healthcare costs.
Alliant reported $5.72 billion in brokerage revenue in 2025, a 14.4% increase over the prior year, ranking among the largest US brokers by revenue.
