NCCI - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Division Executive - Residual Markets
Cliff Merritt, Senior Division Executive-Residual Markets, 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 and was responsible for coordinating NCCI's resources as administrator of workers compensation residual market reinsurance pools for various states, as well as overseeing the servicing carrier indemnification and premium collections process.
In addition to his 30-plus years of residual market experience with NCCI, Mr. Merritt served as vice president and chief financial officer for a worker's compensation insurance carrier. He was also the chief operating officer for a commercial litigation law firm that specialized in workers compensation premium fraud litigation.
Mr. Merritt graduated from William Paterson University (formerly William Paterson College of New Jersey).
David Austin joined NCCI in October 2016. His background in insurance began in 1985 as a claims trainee. He then progressed through various roles in claims, underwriting, and management, which provided him with well-rounded experience as well as depth of knowledge in workers compensation.
Most recently, Austin was responsible for the workers compensation line of business at The Hanover Group. Prior to that, he worked at other large multiline national, regional, and specialty insurance carriers.
Austin earned his bachelor of science degree from Penn State University and completed additional coursework at the University of Pennsylvania. He achieved his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation and has served on numerous workers compensation industry-related boards and committees, including independent bureaus.
Job Titles:
- Senior Division Executive
Job Titles:
- Senior Division Executive
Jeff Eddinger, Senior Division Executive, is responsible for working with national organizations, insurance carriers, insurance regulators, legislators, and other NCCI stakeholders to examine actuarial matters and study industry trends in workers compensation.
In his 37-year career at NCCI, Mr. Eddinger has served in a wide variety of actuarial roles. For more than 10 years, he led NCCI's Ratemaking Division. In that capacity, Mr. Eddinger was responsible for the production and oversight of rate/loss cost filings and ratemaking research in all NCCI jurisdictions.
In 2017, Mr. Eddinger joined NCCI's newly formed Thought Leadership Committee. This committee is responsible for coordinating all of the research and Thought Leadership produced and published by NCCI. In addition, as a company spokesperson, he is often responsible for representing NCCI at major insurance events and in the media.
Mr. Eddinger graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
Job Titles:
- Affiliate Services Executive
Joy Mach is an Affiliate Services Executive and the primary executive contact for her designated affiliates. Her responsibility as the overall relationship manager includes customer satisfaction, proactive communication, and delivering value to her affiliates.
Mach has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. She began her insurance career in agency sales prior to joining NCCI in 2007. At NCCI, she has worked in Experience Rating and Customer Operations training. She is a graduate of Everglades University with a BS in business management and holds the CPCU, WCP, AIC, and AU designations.
Job Titles:
- Division Executive - Regulatory & Legislative Analysis
Laura Kersey is the Division Executive-Regulatory & Legislative Analysis in NCCI's Regulatory Division. In this role, she is responsible for managing the Regulatory & Legislative Analysis Department, which monitors all workers compensation-related legislation and regulations around the country. She also researches and writes about trending and emerging workers compensation issues nationwide.
Prior to joining NCCI in 2011, Ms. Kersey worked for the American Insurance Association (AIA), first as counsel in AIA's law department and then as assistant vice president for government relations in its Northeast regional office.
She earned her BA in psychology from the University of Tennessee and her JD from George Washington University Law School.
Melody Misiaszek joined NCCI in the Affiliate Services Division in 2012 and was promoted to Affiliate Services Executive in 2014. She brings a diverse insurance background and career of more than 40 years, which began in the independent agency side of the business with experience in personal and commercial lines, marketing, underwriting, and agency management. Her workers compensation experience began with a Florida self-insurance fund, managing customer service, premium audit, and loss control.
Prior to joining NCCI, Misiaszek was vice president at AmCOMP Inc., directly responsible for regulatory compliance in 30 states related to insurance company expansion, market conduct, rate and form filings, and data reporting. She holds the Associates in Risk Management (ARM) and Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designations.
Job Titles:
- Chief Regulatory Officer
- Chief Regulatory Officer at the National Council
Susan L. Donegan is Chief Regulatory Officer at the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), in Boca Raton, FL. She oversees the External & Government Affairs, Regulatory & Legislative Analysis, Residual Markets, Regulatory Business Management, and Regulatory Operations functions. Ms. Donegan and her team are responsible for developing companywide strategies to secure timely approvals of filing requests and workers compensation pricing programs in order to achieve loss costs and rate adequacy, cost containment, and residual market operating loss, and provide regulatory support.
Most recently, Ms. Donegan served as commissioner at the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, the state agency that supervises the insurance, captive insurance, and banking and securities sectors. Her career includes various leadership positions including counsel to the Commissioner of Insurance in Massachusetts as well as positions in the private practice of law in Boston and Amsterdam.
Ms. Donegan has served on numerous insurance regulatory committees at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors. She graduated from Vermont Law School with a JD and holds an LL.M. degree in banking and financial services law from Boston University School of Law and an LL.M. degree in European Union and international trade law from Amsterdam Law School at Universiteit van Amsterdam.