Karen H. Byrd, AIC
President & CEO
Karen Byrd joined the Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau (ICRB) as President Elect on April 1, 2019 and became the President & CEO effective June 1, 2019.
Karen began her career with the Kemper National Insurance Company as a Workers Compensation Claims Adjuster after graduating from Wingate University with a B.S. degree in Communications and a minor in Journalism. Following Kemper, she worked for Unigard Insurance Companies, PMA Insurance Company and Key Risk Management Services, all within claims and claims management. In 2004, Karen transitioned her career to the Independent Rating Bureau sector; specializing in the Assigned Risk market. Following a 13-year career at the North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB), where her last held position was Director of Workers Compensation, she was recruited by the largest Independent Bureau in the country, the Workers Compensation Rating Insurance Bureau of California (WCIRB). There she served in a newly created position; Managing Director of Member Services. In this role, Karen managed two teams including the Contact Center and WC Operations, which assisted CA employers and insurance carriers with all workers compensation operations such as experience rating, ownership and data reporting.
As the President and CEO of the ICRB, Karen becomes the first female President of one of the country’s ten Independent Rating Bureaus in their 109 years’ history. At the ICRB, she is responsible for the strategic vision and management of the Indiana Assigned Risk Reinsurance Pool, the Assigned Risk Plan, experience rating, ownership, data collection, advisory rate recommendations, the promulgation of workers compensation rules and dispute resolution.
Karen serves on the Workers Compensation Insurance Organizations (WCIO), the Indiana Advisory Board of the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) and as a Board Member for Noble of Indiana, a charity dedicated to the advancement of disabled children and adults. Karen has attained the professional designation of Associate in Claims (AIC).