About Us
At CBSI we are uniquely equipped to help you unlock the engaged employee, because we’ve helped companies just like yours solve this problem without creating more cost. Unlike other insurance brokers, CBSI engages in a multi-step process throughout the year to listen, learn and clarify your employee concerns, creating solutions that align your company’s benefits with their wants and needs. But our approach goes beyond benefit solutions. Through experience, we have come to understand that educating your employees on their benefits is often more important than the actual benefits themselves. Better solutions together with communication unlocks the engaged employee.
For some this seems counter-intuitive, but it is a conversation you should not avoid. 96% of employees who are satisfied with their benefits are satisfied with their jobs, making tailored benefits and increased communication the best methods to shore up your bottom line. Attacking and solving the ‘unhappy employee syndrome’ that many companies experience will give you an advantage over competitors while slashing your investments in recruiting, hiring and training.
Great leaders see opportunity where others don’t. Real progress and real change for your company can only come with your vision. From your vantage point you are constantly looking for the next advantage, always understanding that there is always more to learn.
Let us show you how to make your business better, in unexpected ways.

Meet Our Team
Vladimir St. Phard
President & CEO
Favorite Food: Buffalo Wings!
Favorite Places & Flavors: Jughandle Inn, Silk City Diner, Skelly’s High Point Pub, St. Martin, Hot Blue Ranch, Garlic & Asian Chili, and Thai. Honorable mention goes to pizza, burgers, and my special brisket.
Favorite Musician: Jonathan Butler
Other Loves: I love simple fun things like spending time with my friends and family, watching sports, and, of course, consuming Buffalo wings.
Why CBSI: My passion is to help businesses truly connect with their employees. Health insurance and other benefits play big roles in doing just that. By using your employee benefits as a tool and not a cost center, you can reduce employee stress and increase productivity and retention…. Plus, it just feels right!
Rachelle St. Phard
Chief Administrative Officer
Favorite Food: Lobster
Favorite Vacation Spot: St. Martin
Favorite Song: Oceans by Hillsong
Other Loves: I am passionate about volunteering and doing what I can to help others. I coordinate the CBSI sponsored annual charity Christmas party each year for The Word In Action International Ministries, and I am working year-round to make that event something really special for the kids.
Why CBSI: I love problem-solving and helping people find the best solutions to their challenges. Whether it’s working with our employment benefit specialists to solve a client’s problem or juggling vendors and budgets for our charity events, taking the pieces apart and finding more effective alternative paths to resolution is my specialty.
Donna Herrman
Vice President
Favorite Vacation Spot: Any beach anywhere!
Favorite Food: Sushi
Favorite Song: This is amazing Grace by Phil Wickham
Why CBSI: I am passionate about helping people navigate the healthcare maze during some of the most difficult times of their lives, and I specialize in the appeals process. Did you know that insurance companies don’t always make the final decision on your benefits claims? Every member has the right to file a complaint with the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, and it’s my job to ensure employees are covered, healthy, and engaged to the process and value of their benefits.
Alexis Swart
Bookkeeper & Account Manager
Favorite Color: Purple
Favorite Movie: Grease
Favorite Vacay Spot: Surf City, NJ!
Why CBSI: For the past 10 years I have enjoyed working at CBSI, not only because it’s such a short commute from my home, but because I work with such amazing people – in the office and with our clients. Our teamwork is outstanding at CBSI. We collaborate and elevate each other in the name of finding the best resolutions for our clients, and because of it, our customers know they can count on us.
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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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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