National Comp 2025: Heroes & Heart — Leading with Care

Our annual call for speaker proposals is now open!

Put Your Knowledge in the Spotlight on a National Comp Stage in Nashville!

The workers’ comp industry has entered an unprecedented period of change. Where will AI take us? It's all still unfolding. Beyond AI, an influx of new technologies and ideas, new treatment options and new challenges to tackle are all part of the puzzle. Join us at National Comp 2025, where experts and peers will gather to share knowledge, experiences and ideas with professionals across the workers’ comp community. 

National Comp 2025 is happening in Nashville, TN! Join us at Music City Center, November 11-12. We'll be bringing you thought-provoking ideas and tangible tools that will keep driving results in workers’ compensation. Secure your slot on this year’s program to present among the top workers’ comp professionals and thought leaders shaping our industry.  

For 2025, we’ll be showcasing diverse educational formats, exploring creative features, and bringing new and familiar faces to the stage. Our program will showcase innovative ideas and solutions aligning with today’s complex workers’ compensation environment – we hope that includes yours! 

We invite proposals that address the full spectrum of issues facing employers and claims payers. Reviewers are eager to see proposals on core workers’ comp concerns as well as emerging issues. Looking for inspiration? Each year, National Comp's Advisory Board assembles a list of suggested topic ideas to get you fired up.

Reviewers will evaluate all proposals based on overall quality, relevance to the industry, defined focus within the educational track structure, practical applications of material for attendees, timeliness of the topic and speakers’ qualifications.  

2025 Educational Program Core Values

As we select educational presentations for 2025, we’re looking for content that reflects these fundamental themes, common to all of us across industry sectors.  

  • Workers’ Comp Transcends Injury and Illness. The impact of comorbidities, mental health and psychosocial factors on claims can’t be ignored. Thoughtful, common-sense approaches to treating the whole injured worker are driving more comprehensive care, faster claim resolutions and a better injured worker experience – while positively impacting both medical and indemnity costs.    
  • Technology Enables People. The adaptability of technology has been at the core of solving problems we’ve never faced before, putting viable solutions into the hands of the organizations that need them most. Wearables, innovative sensor technology, AI-driven analytics and systems play unique roles in the overall context of the problems that organizations are facing now. 
  • Resilience Is Foundational. In an increasingly tumultuous world, we’re asking “How can we be better prepared for the next crisis? The next challenge? The next unexpected load to bear?” National Comp’s programming is designed to facilitate discussions about the industry’s future, about preparedness and adaptability, as well as the influences reshaping the industry.  
  • The Way Forward Is Together. The workers’ comp community is far greater than the sum of its parts. It genuinely takes a village to protect our workforces: Employers, claims professionals, TPAs, MCOs, care providers, brokers, pharmacy benefit professionals, attorneys, risk consultants and more bring essential insights and experiences to the table for the benefit of injured workers and the workforce as a whole.  

2025 Educational Program Topic Areas

For 2025, National Comp will craft educational tracks that best reflect the selected content across all subject matter. We seek presentations and presenters who will help attendees understand and address the scope of industry challenges, from ongoing to emerging issues. We will consider all proposals within these areas of interest:

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

The best organizations weave together structures, values and people to create a strong foundation for their workers’ comp programs, and a clear path for the future. We welcome proposals for the Foundations track that address the advocacy model, the injured worker experience, WC culture, maximizing vendor partnerships, IDM, navigating renewals, working with brokers and carriers, alternative risk transfer, worker/injured worker engagement and more.

ANALYTICS & TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS

A deeper dive into how analytics, AI, machine learning, wearables and more can be leveraged to reduce injuries as well as medical and loss costs. For the Predict track, we seek vendor-agnostic perspectives on what kinds of data provide the most predictive value, where that data lives, and how to harvest and refine it to effectively predict injuries and staunch losses.

INJURY PREVENTION

A broader look at the prevention of injuries, using both technological and traditional methods, The Prevent track seeks proposals related to safety, safety culture, pre-hire/new hire strategies, MSD prevention, athletic/sports training approaches, total worker health, wellness, worker education & engagement, safety training, safety for multilingual workforces, stress/burnout management and more.

MEDICAL & BEHAVIORAL CARE

Whether injuries are common or catastrophic or medical-only, you need up-to-date intelligence on the medical, pharmaceutical and pain management trends that will help you achieve superior outcomes for injured workers. The Treat track seeks proposals related to injuries/illnesses, comorbidities, early reporting, managing medical networks, coordination of care, PDMPs, provider and injured worker education, PBMs, durable medical goods, surgical implants, opioids, PT, complex claims, first aid, nurse triage, mental health care and more.

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT

The journey to recovery is unique for each claim. WC professionals are continuously looking to add to their arsenal of tools and strategies to resolve claims, eliminating obstacles to recovery and return to work. The Resolve track seeks proposals related to RTW strategies, job analysis/light duty banks, offsite light duty, accommodations, psychosocial barriers, social determinants of health, disability accommodation, injured worker health & nutrition, emotional support systems, timely payment of benefits, the role of adjusters and so much more.

LEGAL & REGULATORY

The legal and regulatory landscape impacting the workers’ comp industry evolves rapidly. Workers’ comp professionals need innovative strategies for limiting current exposures and the latest intel on the trends that could impact them around the corner. The Defend & Comply track seeks proposals that help employers get the most from their legal and compliance resources, including litigation prevention, counsel management, fraud investigations, claims closure initiatives, the latest need-to-know information from state and federal courts as well as OSHA, ADAAA and CMS.

INDUSTRY TRENDS

This track includes the high-level topics impacting the workers’ comp industry as a whole. What are the macro pressures impacting the workers’ comp industry, and what are their implications? What are the trends that should be brought to the table, and what actions should be taken? The Big Picture track seeks the perspectives and strategies that belong on WC professionals' radar, including the pressures of the talent gap and the Great Resignation, industry performance, public perceptions, the gig economy, political and economic trends, climate change and more.