Claims People: NYSIR, Charles Taylor, Aon, Swiss Re and NAU

The New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal, which provides property and casualty insurance for New York state school districts, appointed Michael T. Murdoch as senior vice president of claims.

Murdoch has 38 years of experience in the property and casualty space as a risk management executive and consultant, the Uniondale, New York-based insurer said in a press release.

He previously held executive, managerial and professional roles with Nolan Co., an insurance consulting company. Prior to that, he held positions with Berkley Risk, Pilgrim Insurance Co., NAC Reinsurance, National Grange Mutual Insurance Co., Great American Insurance Co., Liberty Co. and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

Murdoch also founded and operated Murdock Claim Management Co., a third-party administrator. He is the author of several books on claims management and frequently writes articles about the insurance industry.

Murdoch graduated with a bachelor’s degree from State University of New York, Oswego. He also has a master’s degree in insurance management from Boston University Graduate School of Management.

Charles Taylor, the London-based claims administrator, has appointed Heather Burnham as senior vice president of marketing and business development of global third-party administration.

Burnham will lead brand strategy and marketing for the TPA business, which is a “whose is a core pillar of the company’s continued expansion in the US,” the company said in a press release.

Charles Taylor TPA in January acquired Underwriters Safety & Claims (US&C), a Louisville, Kentucky-based TPA and managed care services provider with operations across the United States. In 2021, the company acquired Aegis, a TPA for the municipal market based in Brookfield, Wisconsin.

Burnham has 25 years of experience in business-to-business marketing, Charles Taylor.

From 2018 to 2022, Burnham was principal consultant for Haute Brand, a branding and marketing consulting business in Orange County, California, according to her Linkedin page. From 2001 to 2018 she was vice president of marketing at Corvel Corp., a workers’ compensation third-party administrator. She had worked as a marketing assistant for three years before then.

Burnham has a Bachelor of Arts in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Aon has appointed Mike Merlo as claims leader for the United States and Bermuda.

Merlo will be the primary contact for chief claims officers at insurers in the United States and Bermuda to support clients with difficult claims, the brokerage said in a press release. He will report to both Neil Harrison, Aon’s global chief claims officer, and Joe Peiser, head of commercial risk, North America.

Merlo has worked for Aon for 18 years. Most recently, he was part of the firm’s US national casualty coverage advocacy and claims resolution practice.

“Aon is investing in a robust claims organization to help clients realize the promise of insurance,” stated Joe Peiser, head of commercial risk for Aon. “Mike has a track record of advocating for clients when they need us most. He has experience working across all product lines and ensuring clients receive the best possible outcomes during their times of need.”

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has permanently appointed Jonathan Sargent as head of claims for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, effective April 1.

Sargent has held the position in an interim basis for the past six months. He reports to Marc Scheidegger, chief claims officer for Corporate Solutions and Fred Kleiterp, a regional chief executive officer.

“He is widely recognized for his technical claims management expertise across multiple lines of business, as well as his leadership, transparent and approachable communication style,” the company said in a press release.

Sargent has been the head of claims for the United Kingdom and Ireland since March 2020. He joined Corporate Solutions in 2017 as head of property and engineering claims for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.

Previously, he worked in construction claims at Zurich Global Corporate and prior to that he was at Cunningham Lindsay on UK construction, property liability claims for seven years.

Sargent has a law degree from the University of Exeter and a master’s degree from Kings College in London in construction law and International dispute resolution. He also holds an advanced diploma in Insurance from the Chartered Institute and is a member of the British Insurance Law Association, and a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

NAU Country Insurance Co. appointed Michael “Mick” Deal as chief operating officer.

Deal will lead NAU’s claims, legal and compliance, technology and underwriting teams, the company said in a press release. NAU is a crop insurer headquartered in Ramsey, Minnesota.

Deal has served as chief marketing technology officer for NAU for the past seven years, the insurer said in a press release.

Deal joined NAU in 2003 as senior vice president, information technology. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering and business from the University of Minnesota — Duluth.