Speakers
In order of appearance
Cliff Merritt
Senior Division Executive, Residual Markets, NCCI
Cliff Merritt, Senior Division Executive, is responsible for administering the workers compensation residual market reinsurance pools and assigned risk plans approved in NCCI states.
He was previously NCCI’s director of reinsurance, responsible for coordinating NCCI’s resources as administrator of workers compensation residual market reinsurance pools for various states. He also oversaw the servicing carrier indemnification and premium collections processes.
In addition to his 40-plus years of residual market experience with NCCI, Merritt served as vice president and chief financial officer for a workers compensation insurance carrier. He was also chief operating officer for a commercial litigation law firm that specialized in workers compensation premium fraud litigation.
Merritt graduated from William Paterson University (formerly William Paterson College of New Jersey).
Brian Mourer, WCP
Director of Plan Administration, Residual Markets, NCCI
Brian Mourer, Director of Plan Administration, is responsible for administration of the workers compensation residual market plans in states where NCCI is the Plan Administrator.
He has more than 20 years of experience working with residual markets.
Previously, Mourer was director of reinsurance and a reinsurance consultant in Pool Administration, as well as a manager of assigned risk application processing in Assigned Risk.
Prior to his career at NCCI, he spent time in the banking and financial planning industries.
Mourer graduated from the University of Florida.
Heidi Mangum, WCP
Plan Administration Manager, Residual Markets, NCCI
Heidi Mangum is currently Plan Administration Manager. She is primarily responsible for bid process administration, residual market data publications, and residual market subject-matter expertise. Since joining NCCI in 1988, Mangum has served in several operational roles in Bid Administration, Plan Administration, Assigned Risk, Data Management, Actuarial & Economic Services, and Experience Rating.
She earned her BBA from Florida Atlantic University, majoring in management with a minor in economics.
Mike Kahlowsky
Director of Reinsurance, Residual Markets, NCCI
Mike Kahlowsky is responsible for managing Pool Administration and coordinating reinsurance pool services provided by various divisions and departments at NCCI.
His team serves as a primary liaison with various residual market governing boards and committees. In addition, Kahlowsky’s team liaison’s with and supports Servicing Carriers for Pool reporting, which includes uncollectible premium reporting, indemnification reporting, and NP10 (petition for Servicing Carrier allowance) submissions.
Prior to his current role, Kahlowsky held positions in various departments at NCCI including Regulatory, Actuarial & Economic Services, Residual Markets—Carrier Audit, Data Resources, and Residual Markets— Pool Administration between 1993 and 2008.
Kahlowsky also previously worked in strategic and product development executive roles for JM Family, a privately held organization in the automotive industry and Cinch Home Services, a privately held home warranty company.
Kahlowsky graduated from the Florida State University with a bachelor’s of science in finance and completed an executive manager course in strategy and innovation at Northwestern University.
Alan Kurtz
Director, Carrier Audit Services, NCCI
Alan Kurtz is currently the Director of Carrier Audit Services. His primary responsibility is providing leadership, technical skills, and managing the department to ensure Servicing Carriers comply with their obligations to the National Workers Compensation Reinsurance Pool, state workers compensation reinsurance pools, and governmental regulators.
At NCCI he previously held various manager and auditor positions and was manager of Test Audit and Inspection Services and senior financial analyst.
Kurtz has over 30 years of internal and operational audit experience, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance audit experience at a Fortune 500 company.
Kurtz received his bachelor's degree from Florida State University and his master's in accounting from the University of Houston. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and a Certified Fraud Examiner.
Dawn Johnson
Audit Manager, Carrier Audit Services, NCCI
Dawn Johnson is currently an Audit Manager of operational performance and reinsurance reporting for Carrier Audit Services. Her primary responsibilities are planning, organizing, and conducting operational and reinsurance audits on evaluating Servicing Carriers to assess their compliance with established performance standards, statutory requirements, and reasonable business practices related to handling policy and claim files as they relate to NCCI's Assigned Carrier Performance Standards.
She was previously senior auditor in Carrier Audit Services at NCCI.
Johnson has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry working as a claims adjuster in various lines of insurance including medical malpractice, long-term disability, and workers compensation. She holds a 6-20 all-lines adjuster license in Florida.
She has a bachelor's in business management from Hofstra University.
Samantha McLeod, FCAS, MAAA
Executive Director and Actuary, NCCI
Samantha McLeod leads the actuarial team responsible for calculating and setting reserves for the residual market reinsurance pools in NCCI states.
McLeod graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a master’s in mathematics and applied statistics. She is a Fellow in the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
Stephen Cooper
Executive Director and Senior Economist, NCCI
Stephen Cooper joined NCCI in August 2023 as Executive Director and Senior Economist, leading the Economic Research and Communications Team. The team's research focuses on economic developments impactful to the workers compensation system, including labor market dynamics, demographics, inflation, interest rates, and state level insights to aid in ratemaking decisions.
Prior to joining NCCI, Cooper was vice president, senior economist for Hartford Investment Management Company, a subsidiary of The Hartford. In this role, he oversaw economic research developing insights to drive alpha generation for portfolio management. He was also a key consultant with external clients on key economic developments, frequently speaking at industry events.
Cooper has MA and BA degrees in economics both from Bowling Green State University.
Patrick Coate, PhD
Economist II, NCCI
Patrick Coate joined NCCI in 2017 in the Economic Research focus area. He previously worked as a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research and as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center.
He earned a PhD in economics from Duke University and a BS in mathematics from the University of Dayton.
Paul Hendrick, FCAS
Director and Actuary, NCCI
Paul Hendrick joined NCCI's Actuarial & Economic Services Division in 2017. He has contributed to the Legislative Analysis, Ratemaking, and Analytics areas and is currently leader of the Indemnity Data and Analysis Team. He is also responsible for loss cost filings in several states.
Prior to joining NCCI in 2017, he worked as an actuarial consultant at Sigma Consulting Group.
Hendrick earned his BA in mathematics and classical studies from Vanderbilt University and his MA in mathematics from the University of South Carolina. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society.
Alexsandra Bello
Actuarial Consultant, NCCI
Alexsandra Bello joined NCCI in 2016 and is a member of the actuarial team responsible for calculating and setting reserves for the residual market reinsurance pools in NCCI states. She also leads NCCI's Math Motivators, an employee volunteer group that tutors students in math at a local elementary school.
Bello graduated from the University of Florida and earned her bachelor's degrees in mathematics and statistics, with minors in actuarial science and business administration.
Lesley O'Brien, AIM, WCP
Director of Filings and Research, NCCI
Lesley O'Brien is currently the Director of Filings and Research in the Workers Compensation Operations Division overseeing research and item filings. O'Brien's team is responsible for conducting research on national classifications, rules, and forms in NCCI's underwriting manuals and managing the item filing process for state and national item filings.
Since joining NCCI in 1992, O'Brien has worked in various departments including Customer Operations and Residual Markets.
O'Brien graduated from Nova Southeastern University with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. In addition, she has earned the Associate in Management (AIM) and Workers Compensation Professional (WCP) designations.
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