7:00 a.m. |
Continental Breakfast - Grand Ballroom Foyer |
8:00 a.m. |
Strategic Futures- Grand Ballroom
Whether you're an underwriter, in product development, a commercial lines manager, or just somebody who likes to think a lot about the future, you need to pay attention to both the bottom line and the horizon. With a focus on the practical and the possible, this session is a down-to-earth look at key strategic trends: from the rise of intelligent money to the fall of national borders, from virtual workplaces to virtually unlimited information, and even from the automation of healthcare to the automation of things you've never believed possible. If you need to do some deep thinking about choices, forecasts and how you'll navigate tomorrow, let internationally renowned futurist David Zach be your guide during this innovative and entertaining keynote address. David Zach
Futurist
Milwaukee, Wis. |
9:15 - 9:30 a.m. |
Break - Grand Ballroom Foyer
Sponsored by Catlin |
9:30 - 10:30 a.m. |
Radical Underwriting Redesign: How to Streamline Operations to Create Capacity and Improve Ease of Doing Business
This session will provide an overview of how insurers are radically redesigning their underwriting operations, and how Wausau undertook such a redesign to raise efficiencies and improve service while maintaining rigorous underwriting. This session also provides details and real-world examples of concepts, programs, and technologies which are being applied in the market to achieve such improvements. Steve Discher, Senior Vice President
Robert E. Nolan Company
Dallas, Texas Joanna Nelson, Manager, Commercial Lines Underwriting Services
Wausau Insurance
Wausau, Wis. |
10:30 - 10:45 a.m. |
Break - Grand Ballroom Foyer
Sponsored by BF Re Underwriters ( A Berkley Company) |
10:45 - 12:00 p.m. |
Workers' Compensation: Getting a Handle on Severity
This session will take an in-depth look at Conning's recently released study on Workers' Compensation which explores severity factors-such as the cost of medical services, utilization rates, back-to-work, state-specific strategies, and claims management--to help insurers reduce the overall severity of loss. In addition, the session will go further to highlight prevention strategies for the aging workforce, which is clearly increasing the potential for more severe losses, and metrics for managing. Mark Jablonowski, ARM, CPCU
Vice President & Senior Research Analyst
Conning Research & Consulting
Hartford, Conn. |
12:00-1:00 p.m. |
Lunch - Grand Ballroom Foyer |
1:00 - 2:15 p.m. |
- Concurrent Session 1 - MEMIC Case Study
In this session we will learn first-hand how one company is successfully managing underwriting losses through strategic loss control and safety measures. Our speaker will share examples, techniques, and tools used by Maine's largest work comp insurers and one of Ward Group's Top 50 companies - MEMIC. Their hallmark is unmatched commitment to workplace safety and fair treatment for workers. Since inception in 1993, workplace injuries have dropped more than 30 percent in Maine. Join us for an educational and interactive session.
Dan Cote, Senior Vice President - Safety
Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company
Portland, Maine - Concurrent Session 2 - Additional Insureds/Construction
This session will provide an overview on underwriting the additional insured exposure and the requested coverage in a construction contract by the contractor and/or project owner. William Johnson will discuss the various additional insured endorsements and coverage forms requested and the potential impact on construction defect claims. We will cover the background of construction defect claims including how to determine a construction defect through specific examples. We will also take it one step further to discuss the need for a quality management system to avoid additional claims.
William Johnson, Assistant Vice President - Underwriting
Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company
Philadelphia, Pa. - Concurrent Session 3- Building Bench Strength
In this session you will learn first-hand how COUNTRY Insurance and Financial Services is conducting internal talent reviews to assure they have the right leaders in the right seats, at the right time. In this discussion, our presenters will share examples for assessing the "bench", planning for development, and the COUNTRY Leadership Pipeline development model.
Bruce DeGooyer, Director, Corporate Learning & Development
COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services
Bloomington, Ill.
Deanna Fraustchi, EVP, Human Resources & Communications
COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services
Bloomington, Ill.
|
2:15-2:30 p.m. |
Break - Foyer
Sponsored by Zurich Reinsurance Equipment |
2:30 - 3:30 p.m. |
- Concurrent Session I - Global Warming/Weather Cycles
The predictive value of catastrophe modeling is limited when run in a constant environment as respects global temperatures. What happens when you introduce the complicating factor of climate change? It is important to understand how catastrophe modeling firms are responding to signals of climate changes and patterns, since the models are used by the insurance industry to price and allocate catastrophe risk capacity. This presentation will attempt to address some of the near term effects of climate uncertainty on the perception of property insurance risk.
Anthony Sammur, Senior Vice President
Gen Re Intermediaries
Stamford, Conn. - Concurrent Session II - Attracting Talent
In this session you will hear one company's processes for identifying the talent they want to attract, the methods they use, and their strategies for retention. Our speakers from COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services will discuss the challenges of GenX and GenY engagement factors, creating a culture of inclusiveness.
Bruce DeGooyer, Director, Corporate Learning & Development
COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services
Bloomington, Ill.
Deanna Fraustchi, EVP, Human Resources & Communications
COUNTRY Insurance & Financial Services
Bloomington, Ill. - Concurrent Session III - Future of Loss Control
Is Loss Control in your organization considered a "distinctive competitive advantage"? If not. you need to explore the possibilities that take Loss Control beyond the norm to the point of becoming a key differentiator in your marketing process. During this interactive session you will gain insight to better understand the current limitations of the Loss Control discipline, explore and decipher how to create a "distinct competitive advantage" using Loss Control as a key driver, and learn how to create your own definition of what Loss Control can be within your own organization. Be prepared for a dynamic and engaging session on the Future of Loss Control.
Dan Cote, Senior Vice President - Safety
Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company
Portland, Maine
|
3:30 - 3:45 p.m. |
Break - Grand Ballroom Foyer |
3:45 - 5:00 p.m. |
- Concurrent Session I - Predictive Modeling
As the use of predictive modeling to develop underwriting scorecards and tiering plans moves from leading edge technology for personal and commercial lines insurance to mainstream industry standard, a variety of forces are causing these underwriting tools to evolve. Meanwhile, regulatory and media pressure on credit scoring is leading to consideration of a variety of alternatives to credit. New technologies and data sources are leading to a steady stream of new variables being introduced to rating and tiering plans. This session will present a wide variety of the current trends in underwriting tools being developed for commercial insurance programs, as well the keys that underlie the development of a tools that assist in properly underwriting and pricing risk.
Robert Walling, Principal and Consulting Actuary
Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc.
Bloomington, Ill. - Concurrent Session II - Ethics
Practicing ethical behavior is a part of our everyday lives including in the business world yet headlines regularly report unethical behavior by successful company executives. This interactive session will address foundational ethical issues, specifically those that create problems in the insurance industry. Attendees will receive valuable and practical guidelines for making ethical decisions. Come learn why good ethics is good business!
Ted Pappas, President and CEO
The McLaughlin Company
Washington, D.C. - Concurrent Session III - Social Responsibility in the Insurance Industry: Becoming an Active Partner
Insurance remains a business of making connections among all people, establishing bonds of trust and building a strong sense of community, safety and a recognizable brand. In today's times, charitable giving and social responsibility are not only powerful tools for community engagement, they are in fact changing the way we will conduct business in the future.
This session will provide an overview of effective community relations and the growing need for every insurance organization and employee to understand and participate as an active partner in an effective social responsibility program.
Bill Ross, CEO
Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation
Walnut Creek, Calif.
|
5:00 p.m. |
Meeting adjourns for the day |
7:00 - 8:00 a.m. |
Continental Breakfast - Grand Ballroom Foyer
Sponsored by e2Value |
8:00 - 9:00 a.m. |
- Concurrent Session I - Insureds/Construction
This session will provide an overview on underwriting the additional insured exposure and the requested coverage in a construction contract by the contractor and/or project owner. William Johnson will discuss the various additional insured endorsements and coverage forms requested and the potential impact on construction defect claims. We will cover the background of construction defect claims including how to determine a construction defect through specific examples. We will also take it one step further to discuss the need for a quality management system to avoid additional claims.
William Johnson, Assistant Vice President - Underwriting
Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company
Philadelphia, Pa. - Concurrent Session II - Growth in a Soft Market
McKinsey's Disciplined Marketing Funnel provides a platform to discuss profitable growth through all market cycles. As soft market conditions can be more challenging from a growth perspective, those that can adhere to a disciplined marketing course of action prevail in their efforts to achieve profitable growth. In this session we will discuss the McKinsey Disciplined Marketing Funnel and its application for growth in a soft market.
Kim Hanke, Product Marketing Manager & Vice President
Gen Re
Stamford, Conn. - Concurrent Session III- Emerging Exposures in Casualty Underwriting
Change is usually accompanied by new exposures. With the Internet revolution came cyber crime. Global warming has been blamed for an increased risk of natural catastrophes. As scientific progress enables the manufacturing of a greater number of nano-scale products, concerns about safety are rising. Underwriters must learn to view these and other emerging exposures as opportunities rather than threats. With the proper information, these exposures can often be underwritten. This session will help define what is meant by an emerging exposure, provide an overview of current exposures being monitored, and discuss how to turn these risks into value.
Gerry Finley, Chief Casualty Treaty Underwriting Officer
Munich Re America
Princeton, N.J.
|
9:00 - 9:15 a.m. |
Break - Grand Ballroom Foyer
Sponsored by FirstBest |
9:15 - 10:15 a.m. |
- Concurrent Session I - Ease of Doing Business
The ease in which your customers, both agents and policyholders, do business with you is critical to a company's success. But how do you evaluate if your company is customer-friendly or provides easy access to information and services? In this interactive session, Nort Salz will present results from the fifth-annual survey conducted by Deep Customer Connections, Inc. that measures these factors and discuss how carriers are using the metrics to improve their results.
Nort Salz, Founding Partner
Deep Customer Connections
Acton, Mass. - Concurrent Session II: Strategic Underwriting: How P&C Insurers Can Leverage Underwriting to Achieve Corporate Profitability Goals
Today, commercial property and casualty insurance carriers face significant business challenges, including competition from larger carriers and mounting pressure to increase profitable growth and improve customer intimacy. Market shifts have spurred commercial carriers to focus on the underwriting process - an area that has been remarkably under-served by technology.
Forward-thinking insurance carriers are looking to apply technology in strategic new ways to achieve profitable underwriting. Rather than rely on investments and operational efficiency alone, carriers are proving that, by integrating technology with business strategy, they can achieve profitability on their core underwriting business.
This session will explore how to leverage new Web-based technologies and standards-based architectures to transform underwriting into a strategic profit center, affording business advantages like precision pricing, reduced risk, and greater management visibility.
John Belizaire, CEO
First Best Systems
New York, N.Y.
Debra Smallwood, Chief Transformation Officer
ICW Group
San Diego, Calif. - Concurrent Session III: Emerging Exposures in Casualty Underwriting
Change is usually accompanied by new exposures. With the Internet revolution came cyber crime. Global warming has been blamed for an increased risk of natural catastrophes. As scientific progress enables the manufacturing of a greater number of nano-scale products, concerns about safety are rising. Underwriters must learn to view these and other emerging exposures as opportunities rather than threats. With the proper information, these exposures can often be underwritten. This session will help define what is meant by an emerging exposure, provide an overview of current exposures being monitored, and discuss how to turn these risks into value.
Gerry Finley, Chief Casualty Treaty Underwriting Officer
Munich Re America
Princeton, N.J.
|
10:15 - 10:30 a.m. |
Break - Grand Ballroom Foyer |
10:30 - 11:30 a.m. |
Leadership: It's a Personal Thing
Join us for an inspirational closing session in which James Britt, CPCU, author and 2007-2008 CPCU Society president, will deliver his personal message on leadership. James will share stories from his recent book, Building Leaders One on One, in which he writes about how leadership is not a formulated process, but rather a lifetime journey of collective one-on-one experiences. Learn how individualized leadership can be developed successfully through lifelong encounters with role models and mentors. Our speaker will give you tips and ideas on how to tap into your individualized leadership style for future success. James Britt, CPCU
2007-08 CPCU Society President
Managing Director
Marsh USA, Inc.
Charlotte, N.C |
11:30 a.m. |
Seminar Concludes |
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