8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Optional Investment Workshop*
*Separate Registration Required 

7 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Registration

6 – 7 p.m.

Networking Reception
Join us for an interactive and fun casual networking reception. We invite attendees of both the Investment Workshop and Financial Focus Seminar to attend.

7 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Registration

7 a.m. - 8 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

8:00 – 8:15 a.m.

Welcome and Introductions

8:15 – 9:15 a.m.

General Session: P/C Industry Overlook
Clearly, 2011 will go down as a very tumultuous year for the industry. Global catastrophe losses soared, with implications for insurers across the country. In addition, deteriorating underwriting performance and persistently low interest rates began to shift the industry market dynamics. In light of these and many other events, Dr. Steven Weisbart, senior vice president and chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, will provide a comprehensive assessment of the current state of the property/casualty insurance industry and identify the principal challenges and opportunities in the year ahead.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how deteriorating underwriting performance and persistently low interest rates shifted property/casualty industry dynamics.
• Gain insight on the current state of the property/casualty insurance industry.
• Identify the principal challenges in the year ahead.
• Learn about the opportunities that exist in the property/casualty market in the year ahead.

Dr. Steven Weisbart, CLU
Senior Vice President and Chief Economist
Insurance Information Institute
New York, N.Y.

9:15 – 9:35 a.m.

Networking Break

9:35 – 10:35 a.m.

General Session: The NAIC and ERM
For years, ERM has been the focus of much discussion and attention. Now regulators are increasingly seeking information about companies’ ERM programs. During the past several years, risk-focused examinations have been implemented whereby examiners inquire about and observe an insurer’s risk management process, even in the absence of any comprehensive requirement that insurers have an ERM program at all. That is likely to change going forward. The NAIC currently has a number of initiatives that could have a significant impact on an insurer’s ERM efforts including group capital requirements, the Holding Company Model Act, and the Own Risk and Solvency Assessment.

This session will discuss the NAIC’s ERM-related initiatives, including some of the pressures emanating from international developments that are driving those initiatives with an emphasis on the implications that they may have on insurers generally, mutual companies in particular.

A. Thomas Finnell Jr., CPA
Managing Director
Invotex Group
Washington D.C.

10:35– 10:55 a.m.

Networking Break

10:55 a.m. – 12 p.m.

General Session: SSAP 101: Understanding the Insanity
Statutory deferred tax assets, originally designed as a plug to make the NAIC’s Codification surplus-neutral, have always been controversial. Now the NAIC is proposing a dramatic increase in the scope and complexity of the entire income tax standard. While the new rules continue to be molded, these accounting and disclosure changes are likely to be effective for 2011 annual statements.

This session will highlight the key changes contained in the proposed SSAP 101, and outline implementation strategies and concerns. Attendees will learn how these changes will affect company statutory financial statements

Jim Murphy, CPA
Partner
Johnson Lambert & Co. LLP
Jacksonville, Fla.

12 - 1:15 p.m.

Networking Lunch

1:15 - 2:30 p.m.

General Session: Insurance Company Case Study- Implementing ERM
This session is designed to be complementary to the earlier session on the NAIC and ERM. It will provide a case study example of how NAMIC member company Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company was able to drive a successful ERM initiative throughout its organization.

In this co-presentation, Jon Grether, COO; Alison VanOtterloo, director of internal audit; and Mike Warren, risk manager, all of Pharmacists Mutual, will explain how, with the support of the president, board, and other executives, they established and implemented an ERM initiative that contributed to the goals of Pharmacists’s strategic plan. They will discuss how they developed a customized project plan that included employee education and the identification of activities, risks, controls, and mitigation efforts. They will share examples of the elements of testing, reporting, and monitoring that they established. And the evaluation of risks against Pharmacist Mutual’s risk appetite, which was an important part of the process,will also be discussed.

The ERM team at Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company worked collaboratively with Mary Peter, director of enterprise risk management at Eide Bailly, throughout the process. She will share her expertise and insight on the pros and cons of the team’s experience in this informative case study.

Moderator: Mary Peter
Director of Enterprise Risk Management
Eide Bailly LLP
Minneapolis, Minn.

Jon Grether
COO
Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company
Algona, Iowa

Alison VanOtterloo
Director of Internal Audit
Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company
Algona, Iowa

Mike Warren
Risk Manager
Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company
Algona, Iowa

2:30 - 2:50 p.m.

Networking Break

2:50 - 3:50 p.m.

General Session: Predictive Analysis & A Data Driven Culture
Cloud computing. Business analytics. Predictive modeling. As technology allows us to analyze more and more data at ever-increasing speeds, insurance companies are faced with significant threats and tremendous opportunities. This session will take a strategic look at the role business analytics, including predictive modeling, can play in transforming the insurance-company culture into one that relies on greater analysis of data for decision making. Rob Walling and Roosevelt Mosley, principals and consulting actuaries with Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc., will present a conceptual framework of the opportunities for insurance companies as well as specific examples of current company best practices.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop a working knowledge of current predictive analytics and business intelligence best practices.
• Understand the role analytics play in creating and sustaining a data-driven culture.
• Understand the sustainable advantages enjoyed by insurers with a data driven-culture.

Roosevelt Mosley, FCAS, MAAA
Principal and Consulting Actuary
Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc.
Bloomington, Ill.

3:50 p.m.

Seminar Adjourns for the Day

6:00 p.m.

Optional Networking Dinner

7 a.m. – 11:40 a.m.

Registration

7 – 8 a.m.

Continental Breakfast

8 – 9 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions

1. Reinsurance Accounting: Part 1
   This two-part session provides attendees with an introduction to property casualty reinsurance contracts and how they are accounted for by the ceding company. The program points out the key elements of a reinsurance transaction, the various forms of contracts. It also illustrates accounting for the commonly used types of contracts.
   
   Kevin Oates, MBA, ARE, AIAF
   Senior Instructor
   SNL Center for Financial Education
   Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
   
   
2. Using Technology to Accelerate the Financial Close Process
   Today, standard accounting practices have finance departments scheduling around month-end and year-end closes. Though this process is not likely to change, tools exist that can help ease the burden of the process and provide greater insight into the timing, approvals, and status of the process.
   
   This presentation will identify the common challenges during a close cycle and discuss how technology –beyond Excel – can assist in providing greater efficiency and clarity to the process. (Note: This is not a vendor-specific presentation, but it will demonstrate a vendor’s product to support the concepts that are discussed.)
   
   

   Learning Objectives:
   

   • Objective understanding of current processes.
   • Methods to normalize the closing process.
   • Types of tools to assist in the close process.
   • Benefits of tools to facilitate clarity into the process.
   
   
   Brian Schlegel
   Vice President
   ImageSoft, Inc.
   Southfield, Mich.

9 - 9:20 a.m.

Networking Break

9:20 - 10:20 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions

1. Reinsurance Accounting: Part 2
   This is a continuation of the session offered during the 8:00 a.m. time slot. Attendees selecting these sessions should plan to attend both.
   
   Kevin Oates, MBA, ARE, AIAF
   Senior Instructor
   SNL Center for Financial Education
   Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
   
   
2. Important Insights on the Mergers and Acquisitions Landscape
   This session, led by Skip Hagerty, partner, Philo Smith & Co., will provide an insightful look at the ever-changing role and impact of mutual insurers on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape. Through statistical illustrations of important elements such as industry capitalization, public valuations, rating agency action, and corporate strategy, attendees will gain an understanding of the key drivers of M&A activity.
   
   Skip will also discuss the historic role mutual companies have played in the M&A landscape, focusing particularly on the differences between stock and mutual companies and how they approach deal-making as well as the recent increase in mutual activity in the past 18 months. Attendees will learn about some of the key drivers going forward and valuable tips for the mutual company from buyer, seller, or affiliation perspectives. You won’t want to miss this informative session on this very timely topic.
   
   Skip Hagerty
   Partner
   Philo Smith & Co.
   Stamford, Conn.
   

10:20 - 10:40 a.m.

Networking Break

10:40 - 11:40 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions

1. State and NAIC Regulations for Insurer Audits (MAR)
   This year brings the first year of state examinations under the expanded Model Audit Rule (MAR). This session will focus on the impact of MAR on annual CPA audits and state examinations. John Blackshire, Jr. will present the basics of MAR compliance. A group discussion will focus on the question: “Are the examiners progressing with their goal of reviewing the risk management practices employed by insurance companies in the regulation of financial solvency?”
   
   John Blackshire, Jr., CPA
   CEO
   Corporate Compliance Seminars
   Austin, Texas
   
2. Mergers and Acquisitions
   This session, led by Skip Hagerty, partner, Philo Smith & Co., will provide an insightful look at the ever-changing role and impact of mutual insurers on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape. Through statistical illustrations of important elements such as industry capitalization, public valuations, rating agency action, and corporate strategy, attendees will gain an understanding of the key drivers of M&A activity.
   
   Skip will also discuss the historic role mutual companies have played in the M&A landscape, focusing particularly on the differences between stock and mutual companies and how they approach deal-making as well as the recent increase in mutual activity in the past 18 months. Attendees will learn about some of the key drivers going forward and valuable tips for the mutual company from buyer, seller, or affiliation perspectives. You won’t want to miss this informative session on this very timely topic.
   
   Skip Hagerty
   Partner
   Philo Smith & Co.
   Stamford, Conn.
   

11:40 a.m.

Seminar Concludes