
About Us
Our company
We formed UPG because we think the traditional GA model is broken.
We believe that all broker partners are not created equal, so our level of services and tools are tiered based upon a broker's level of production and involvement with UPG.
Mission
Our mission is to revolutionize what brokers expect from a General Agency.
We provide our broker partners with more than just quotes and claims support. We're delivering concierge level support, along with the technology needed to keep up in a fast paced world.
Our Team
Innovating the General Agency model can't be done without a great team.
We pride ourselves most on our people. Our staff has over 50 years combined experience in Group and Individual Benefits. We believe in providing specialized, personalized service and the best technical minds in the industry.

Our Team

Jason Newman
President
Jason started in the insurance business with a life insurance agency in Charlotte two weeks after graduating from Appalachian State with a degree in Finance. He excelled at employee benefits and quickly grew a block of business the old fashioned way – knocking on doors and dialing for dollars. After three and a half years, he took a job with a national general agency and moved to Charleston, SC to run its office there. Seventeen years later, he left the agency to form United Producers Group.
Jason is married to his wonderful (and very understanding) wife Kristen, and they have two children, Byers and Georgia Grace. In his spare time, Jason enjoys being on the water, coaching his kids’ sports teams, spending time at his family’s farm in NC, and serving on several insurance company advisory councils.

Lee Howard
Vice President of Sales
Lee began his insurance career in 1999 at a large national general agency. With over sixteen years of experience helping his clients, he left the agency in 2015 to become a founding member of United Producers Group.
Lee attended Georgia Southern University and now lives in Mount Pleasant, SC with his wife Katie and their sons, Trey and Graham. He helps coach his sons’ sports teams and hikes, golfs, and plays volleyball whenever he’s not in the office. Lee also participates in professional associations, serving as President of the Lowcountry Association of Health Underwriters and winning their Distinguished Service Award in 2005. He would later serve as the Treasurer for the South Carolina Association of Health Underwriters from 2014-2016.

Stephen Osborne
Vice President of Sales
Stephen is a proud graduate of College of Charleston. Days after commencement, a family friend introduced him to Jason and shortly after, Stephen began his career in the benefits industry. After a decade gaining experience at a national general agency, Stephen joined Jason and Lee to form United Producers Group.
Stephen is married to his wonderful wife Grace and the couple live in Mt. Pleasant with their golden retriever, Hadley. Stephen enjoys playing golf and watching most sporting events whenever he gets a chance.

McClain Goodwin
Vice President of Sales
McClain graduated Wofford College in 2004 and spent four years with Aetna Voluntary learning the voluntary business before meeting Jason. He spent the next three years with Jason, Stephen, and Lee before getting the opportunity to develop the Charlotte market for Allstate Benefits. McClain joined United Producers Group in April of 2017 and now enriches the team by sharing his decade of industry experience in account management, product development, and sales in the Limited Medical, Major Medical and Worksite worlds.
McClain resides in Charlotte, NC with his understanding wife, Talah, two beautiful and crazy girls, Addison and Charlotte, and his loyal springer spaniel, Bogey.

Roger Garner
Director of Individual & Senior Markets
Roger began his insurance career in 2002 with BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina. During his 16 years with BCBS, he worked as a customer service representative, a COBRA administrator, and a retail sales manager and was a driving force behind opening the first BlueCross Retail Center in the state. Later, Roger became a regional marketing representative focused on Individual, Medical, and STH plans and responsible for sales, training, and compliance solutions for over 500 agents. Roger lives in the Charleston area with his fiancé Kristin and has three boys: Joseph, Nick, and Jacob. In his spare time, he enjoys cruising around in his Jeep, spending time in the Smoky Mountains, and golfing.

Sarah Gardiner
Sales Account Executive
Sarah, a North Carolina native, moved to the Lowcountry to attend College of Charleston. After graduation in 2014, she began her career in the insurance industry at a large national general agency before joining United Producers Group. Outside of the office, you’ll find Sarah exploring Charleston and enjoying all that this beautiful city has to offer.

Jon Bailey
Sales Account Executive
Jon graduated Vanderbilt University in 2006. He is an Atlanta native who began his insurance career in 2008 with Lincoln Financial Group in Atlanta covering 3 states. He developed a reputation for building strong relationships with his broker partners providing group insurance solutions with Lincoln’s suite of core ancillary and voluntary products. In 2016, he joined a large independent insurance agency as an employee benefits consultant. After a few years on the retail brokerage side, Jon met Jason and jumped at the opportunity to open an office for UPG in Atlanta. He has a deep understanding of group medical and ancillary insurance, underwriting, alternative funding strategies, benefit administration technology, and enrollment strategy. He has strong relationships on both the carrier and brokerage side and is excited to expand UPG’s presence in Georgia. Jon and his wife Rebecca live in Brookhaven, GA with their two sons James and Bennett.

Stefan Alamia
Implementation Specialist
Stefan graduated from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX, in 2012 where he began his sales career in the in the IT and SaaS industry. He then relocated to Raleigh, NC as a field software executive overseeing the entire Southeast region. After spending many weekends on the beaches of Charleston, Stefan and his girlfriend decided to move there permanently where they later married. Stefan saw a great opportunity to utilize his customer service and sales abilities for United Producer’s Group, and joined the team in the fall of 2018. He lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife Coles and their Red Labrador, Samson.

Jaclyn Hargrove
Director of Account Management
Jaclyn is a graduate of the College of Charleston, where she majored in education. After spending time as an elementary school teacher, she moved on to become a buyer in the fashion industry before joining United Producers Group in 2015. As the leader of our account management team, Jaclyn is responsible for ensuring our clients receive timely and accurate responses to a variety of issues across the spectrum of our industry.
Jaclyn and her husband TAC live in Mt. Pleasant with their young daughter Sloane and English mastiff Mabel.

Kristina Galloway
Account Executive
Kristina was born and raised in Mount Pleasant, SC and loves all things Lowcountry—including fishing. Before joining United Producers Group, Kristina gained valuable experience as a worker’s compensation disability claims analyst for a firm located in Tampa, FL. In an effort to further her education and growth in our industry, Kristina has earned her life and health insurance license. Her diligence and customer service skills make her an important advocate for clients navigating an increasingly complex administrative environment.

Anne Breeden Lunn
Account Executive
Anne Breeden graduated from College of Charleston in 2016 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. After teaching for two years, she decided to make a change and is learning the insurance world from the ground up. Outside of the office, Anne Breeden enjoys taking advantage of all that the Charleston area has to offer, as well as visiting family in her hometown of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

Melissa Forrester
Account Executive
Melissa graduated from College of Charleston in 2008 with a degree in Business Administration. She met Jason in 2010 and she has since worked in the benefits industry; first for a large, national general agency and then for United Producers Group when it formed in 2015. Originally from Greenville, Melissa and her husband, Billy, now live in Simpsonville, SC with their two children, John and Evelyn. Melissa is a member of the Junior League of Greenville, is President-Elect of the upstate chapter of the College of Charleston Alumni Association, and volunteers for the Liturgical Arts Committee at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Devin Hartley
Implementation Specialist
Devin graduated from College of Charleston with a degree in Political Science in 2017. Fresh out of school, Devin joined United Producers Group and is quickly learning the insurance world from the ground up. Originally from Mount Pleasant, Devin lives in downtown Charleston now and occasionally finds time to be an artist, preferring to paint “anything but people” using oils.

Kassie Bennett
Account Executive
Kassie attended Queens College, where she majored in Elementary Education. She began her insurance career in 1997 and most recently worked at Allstate Benefits before joining United Producers Group. With over 20 years in the industry, Kassie has extensive product knowledge and understands the importance of providing excellent service to our clients.
Kassie and her husband Michael live in Charlotte, NC with their son Cole and two dogs Barkley and Zoey.

Scott Neville
Employee Navigator Case Builds
Scott graduated from Marist College in 2001 and spent years as a newspaper reporter, a promotion copywriter, and a book editor. His five years of experience at a Fortune 100 financial software company is helping the team to develop innovative technical solutions to improve each client’s experience. Originally from Connecticut, Scott and his wife, Caitlin, now live in Mount Pleasant with their son Grayson (and dog Fennec) and love to hit the beach and explore the Lowcountry.

Matt Feagin
Employee Navigator Enrollment Specialist
Matt studied at Clemson and College of Charleston, graduating with a Finance degree in 2016. After a short stint building his customer service skills as a courier and a professional chauffeur, Matt moved from the Myrtle Beach area to Mount Pleasant in December 2017 to join United Producers Group. When he is not updated clients’ information and improving their online experience, Matt enjoys running, watching sports, and visiting local breweries.

Andrea "Andy" Murphy
Employee Navigator Enrollment Specialist
Andrea attended Sandhills Community College in 2009 where she studied automotive technology before transitioning into the hospitality management industry. Andy made her way into the insurance world by accepting a position at an independent insurance agency in Wilmington, North Carolina, in their personal lines and group benefits departments. Andy joined UPG in March of 2019 as an enrollment specialist working remotely from Niangua, Missouri, where she lives with her husband, Sean, and two cats, Caspian and Stella. Outside of the office Andy enjoys spending quality time with her family and taking in the scenic views hiking the Missouri countryside.

Caleb Peterson
Employee Navigator Case Builds
Caleb graduated from Purdue University in 2014, where he majored in Accounting. He began his insurance career in 2015 working in an implementation department at a local Charleston insurance tech company. During the summer of 2019, he joined United Producers Group. Originally from Indiana, Caleb now lives in the Charleston area and enjoys Charleston to the fullest.

Rebecca Duvall
Controller
Becca graduated in 2005 from College of Charleston with a degree in Business Administration. While attending College of Charleston and the MHA program at MUSC, she worked with Ameriprise Financial as an executive assistant. Upon receiving her MHA from MUSC, she began her career in 2007 at Benefitfocus Inc. working in the implementation department. During the winter of 2016, she joined United Producers Group. She is currently employed as the Controller and enjoys the detail-oriented work that the role requires. Outside of the office, Rebecca enjoys spending time with her husband and two beautiful girls.

Christie FitzPatrick
Executive Assistant
Christie attended Wheeling Jesuit University earning her Associates in Psychology, after moving to Charleston she graduated from The Art Institute with a degree in Management and Marketing. Christie joined UPG in 2019 and began a new career in the insurance world. Gaining knowledge in each department, Christies main focus is as the Executive Assistant to our President of the company. Originally from New Jersey, Christie has lived in Charleston since 2006, proudly calling it home. Outside of her career life Christie has been a volunteer basketball, cheerleading, and equestrian coach in the Special Olympics since 1999. Christie also loves sailing and surfing, but most of all traveling the globe with her family and friends learning everything about different cultures and countries.

Katie Kirila
Account Executive
Katie was born and raised in Tappahannock, VA and moved to Sullivan's Island after finishing her undergraduate studies at Virginia Tech. She fell in love with the area and decided to stay indefinitely. After finishing graduate school at Charleston School of Law she began working in the health care field. She worked in health care administration for seven years before deciding on a career change. Katie is excited to be part of the UPG team.