11 a.m. - 7:15 p.m.

Registration

12 - 6 p.m.

Optional Activity Information Desk

11:45 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Optional Activity: Whitewater Rafting

2- 4:30 p.m.

Young Leaders Circle Optional Activity: Leading the Way – GPS Odyssey*
Designed to provide participants with a challenging adventure while helping to develop important, leadership, communication and decision-making skills, this navigation challenge will have small teams competing against each other as they search for clues throughout Vail Village. Teams will be utilizing handheld Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and a set of clues to aid in mapping their routes. Once teams have completed the course, they will gather to discuss the experience and reflect upon the leadership lessons learned.

*This Optional Activity will require a separate registration. A registration form and pricing will be mailed to all Management Conference Registrants in April.

5:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Kid's Party

6 - 7:15 p.m.

Welcome Reception

7:30 p.m.

Private Dinner Functions

7 - 9 a.m.

Breakfast for registered delegates and guests

7 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Registration

7:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Optional Activity Information Desk

8 - 8:30 a.m.

Opening Comments & Welcome

Kristen Sizelove, VP Member Development
Steve Miller, Committee Chairman

8:30 - 9:30 a.m.

Power Session: Industry & Weather Trends
Last year was a record breaker in terms of weather events and insured losses that resulted from them. In fact, the last three years have been very active in terms of record-breaking snowfall on the East Coast and devastating tornadoes in the south. Have these disasters been a break from “normal” weather or is this a change in the overall pattern? Should we expect these conditions to continue? To get worse? Join us for an interactive and enlightening session with meteorologist Mike Smith of Accuweather, a leading weather forecasting company that provides products and services to more than 175,000 customers in media, utilities, agriculture, emergency management agencies, and many other industries.

Mike Smith, Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation Executive
Accuweather
State College, Pa.

9:30 - 9:50 a.m.

Networking Break

9:50 - 10:30 a.m.

General Session: A Broker's Perspective to the Reinsurance Relationship
We will take an inside look into the important reinsurance relationship … from a broker’s perspective. We’ll also examine how this relationship has changed over the years.

Presenter James Kent’s career spans more than two decades in the reinsurance industry with 13 years at AON Re (now AON Benfield) and the last eight years at Willis Re where James leads the property, casualty and specialty operations throughout North America, which encompasses the U.S., Canada, Bermuda and London. Prior to his appointment as president of Willis Re North America, James ran the reinsurance operations for Willis Re Bermuda where he was responsible for developing new reinsurance business from Bermuda-domiciled companies as well as for managing inward business into the Bermuda reinsurance market. James was instrumental in establishing Willis Re’s worldwide network of offices, thus allowing global clients to receive local representation when dealing with the Bermuda reinsurance market.

James Kent, President, North America
Willis Re
New York, N.Y.

10:30 - 10:50 a.m.

Networking Break

10:50 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Power Session: Economy
Economic Changes – What Lies Ahead
What are the implications of recent policy changes for interest rates and stock prices? What lies ahead on the economic landscape? Dr. Robert Genetski presents his forecast in the context of classical economic principles. These principles focus on the role of low taxes, free markets, property rights and price stability in fostering economic prosperity. After discussing the importance of these principles, Dr. Genetski explains the forces that are at work to promote a worldwide economic boom.

Robert Genetski, Ph.D.
Economist
Saugatuck, Mich.

1 CPE Credit - Economics

12 p.m.

Sessions adjourn for the day

12:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Optional Workshop: Investment Perspectives*
In this focused version of the NAMIC Investment Workshop, participants will look at the key elements of the insurance company investment process and their impact on the bottom line.

The first part of the workshop will include a primer on the investment process and key issues that senior management and the board need to know to improve investment performance. This section will be both informative and interactive and will utilize an automatic audience response system to poll the audience throughout the session.

The second part of the workshop will be an insurance company case study that reviews an investment issue. Participants will discuss how the insurer should approach certain investment challenges, while comparing to what actually occurred.

This session is geared toward senior –level attendees that would like to gain a better understanding of insurance company investment issues from a company and board perspective.

Alton R. Cogert, President & CEO
Strategic Asset Alliance
Bellingham, Wash.

3 CPE Credits - Finance

*Note: a boxed lunch will be available for purchase for workshop participants

1:45 - 5 p.m.

Optional Activity: Adventure on Horseback

1:45 - 5:30 p.m.

Optional Activity: 4x4 Off-Road Adventure

1:45 - 5:30 p.m.

Optional Activity: Zip Lining

7 p.m.

Private Dinner Functions

7 - 9 a.m.

Breakfast for registered delegates and guests

7 - 10:15 a.m.

Registration

7 - 8 a.m.

Gold Outing Club Drop
All golfers participating in the golf outing must drop their golf clubs with the bell staff prior to the start of essions.

7:30 - 11:15 a.m.

Optional Activity Information Desk

8 - 9:15 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions

1. Cyber Risks for Companies
   This session will provide insight into newly emerging privacy and data protection issues affecting insurance carriers. Matthew Cullina, CEO, Identity Theft 911, will discuss a variety of important issues including agent/broker privacy risks, policy holder data protection obligations, and emerging privacy liability issues for carriers.
   
   Matthew Cullina, CEO
   Identity Theft 911
   Providence, R.I.
2. The Insurance Office of the Future
   With an emphasis on employee behavior and an ever-evolving office environment, this highly interactive session will explore the insurance office of the future. Through a simulation where participants are given $50 million to start a new insurance company, participants will explore office design issues such as virtual offices, cube versus open-office environments, management fluidity and visibility, and evolving demographics and employee preferences.
   
   YLC Sponsored Session
   
   Pauline Bargell, Business Development Consultant
   Steelcase, Inc.
   Denver, Colo.
3. The Future of Tort
   This informative session will be a moderated point/counterpoint discussion on the future of Tort.
   
   Phil Fraim, Moderator
   President & CEO
   Oklahoma Attorneys Mutual Insurance Company
   Oklahoma City, Okla.
   
   Mark A. Behrens, Esq.
   Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P.
   Washington, D.C.
   
   Ben Butts, Esq.
   Butts & Marrs, PLLC
   Oklahoma City, Okla.
4. Leadership Development Track: The Effective Leader - Building Skills to Build Trust*
   Leadership, a critical management skill, requires careful insight, self -reflection, and the desire to motivate and inspire others. As today’s business environment changes rapidly, so does the need for leaders to adapt quickly in order to be effective.
   
   This session will explore the skills and attributes needed to be an effective leader. Jason, Young, author, trainer, and former Southwest Airlines senior-level manager, will share his insight from years of research and experience managing and training people. He will discuss the changing role of a leader, the power of leadership influence, and how to maximize employee engagement.
   
   Jason Young, Author, Trainer, and Consultant
   LeadSmart, Inc.
   Dallas, Texas
   
   *This concurrent session is designed as a leadership development track for non-CEOs.

9:15 - 9:35 a.m.

Networking Break

9:35 - 10:50 a.m.

Concurrent Sessions

1. Catastrophe Management
   Volatile weather, increasing catastrophe losses, and recent model updates will all be addressed during this session. The growing expectations of rating agencies and regulators with respect to how companies manage their catastrophe risk will also be covered. As founder of the first modeling company, AIR, and developer of the first catastrophe model, Karen Clark, president and CEO, Karen Clark & Company, will explain why the models have so much inherent uncertainty and volatility and why they will never be accurate.
   
   Karen will discuss new approaches and tools companies are using to become better informed about their exposure concentrations and catastrophe loss potential in order to develop consistent risk management strategies that can be communicated effectively to internal and external stakeholders.
   
   Karen Clark, President & CEO
   Karen Clark & Company
   Boston, Mass.
   
   1.5 CPE Credits - Management Advisory Services
2. Calamity Nation: New Approaches in Ages of Disaster
   Traditional approaches to disaster management and emergency preparedness are often too slow and simply do not go far enough. The pace of change, the scale of change, and the resulting realities of the increasing frequency and severity of disaster events combined with an ever-greater demand for scarce resources require not just a new approach tactically but a new way of thinking.
   
   What if we took the concept of resiliency past the limits of bureaucratic programs and looked at better ways to knit our communities before disasters happen? What if we crossed sectors and leveraged new and living best practices in the fields of marketing, design, and community organizing? What if we turned our response plans inside out to focus on citizen involvement instead of government rescue?
   
   Using examples from recent disasters, we will discuss new media and communication techniques that have led to action and citizen engagement such as crowdsourcing to elephants in recovery work, and explore how we might proactively and effectively move to reduce the number of calamitous disasters despite ever-increasing events.
   
   Shelby Edwards, Global Business Continuity Senior Manager
   Nike, Inc.
   Seattle, Wash.
   
   1.5 CPE Credits - Management Advisory Services
3. Fraud - Important Trends and the Impact to the Industry
   This session addresses fraud from the perspective of what is actually happening out there. One thing is for sure: fraud impacts every company that writes insurance. The good news is: insurance executives can take proactive steps to reduce the financial impact of fraud.
   
   Jim Schweitzer, Sr. VP and Chief Operating Officer
   National Insurance Crime Bureau
   Des Plaines, Ill.
   
4. Leadership Development Track: Learning from My Journey
   Long gone are the days when leading and managing will be successful by simply looking at the attributes of leaders who have gone on before us or by what we read from our leaders in their how to books. The process of “plug and play” may face some real challenges in today’s dynamic socioeconomic and ever changing business environment.
   
   During this session, we will identify and explore four lessons learned during one CEO’s journey in leadership. We will look for ways that the lessons may be useful and practical to you as a developing leader.
   • Leading emerges from within – it is who we are, our core beliefs and personal values that underpin and determine how we act, decide, make choices, and develop/destroy relationships. Leading is less about the “what we do” and more about the “why we do”.
   • No one cares about your plans – far too often we give way too much time and energy to develop elegant plans, publish them and nothing happens. It is the outcomes against which we are measured and if it made a real difference it then may be remembered.
   • Creativity is at the heart of leading today – we operate in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment. Effective leadership demands that we are creative, just like an artist.
   • Planning is about stewardship – the question leaders must answer every day and with every decision is whether we will pass onto the next person a stronger more sustainable organization than we inherited.
   
   
   David Lehman, CEO
   Mennonite Mutual Insurance Company
   Orville, Ohio
   
   *This concurrent session is designed as a leadership development track for non-CEOs.

10:50 a.m.

Sessions adjourn for the day

11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Annual Golf Outing

11:45 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Optional Activity: White Water Rafting

1:45 - 5 p.m.

Optional Activity: Adventure on Horseback

1:45 - 5:30 p.m.

Optional Activity: Zip Lining

1:45 - 5:30 p.m.

Optional Activity: Artisan Cheese & Boutique Wine Pairing Class

7 p.m.

Private Dinner Functions

7 - 9 a.m.

Breakfast for registered delegates and guests

7a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Registration

7:30 - 11:15 a.m.

Optional Activity Information Desk

8 - 9:30 a.m.

Power Session: Vision/Strategy
Innovation Games®: Product Box Interactive Strategy Game

Innovation Games are powerful qualitative research and problem solving techniques focused on the use of collaborative play with customers, colleagues, partners, or the community at large. Innovation Games have been used extensively by companies around the world to identify and solve high-level problems, and to conduct market research and customer Insight initiatives.

During this highly interactive session, attendees will participate in Product Box, a fun and creative Innovation Game designed to explore the issue of talent recruitment, development and retention. This unique learning experience will not only provide insight into the talent management process, but attendees will learn more about the use of Innovation Games to enhance creative and strategic thinking skills.

Jason Tanner, President
Enthiosys
Mountain View, Calif.

9:30 - 9:50 a.m.

Networking Break

9:50 - 10:50 a.m.

General Session: Report from Customized Benchmarking Study
Join us for an interactive session based on the results from a customized benchmarking study conducted with 2012 Management Conference participating companies. This session will tie in several key areas from the Management Conference agenda including industry trends, economic drivers, leadership, and vision/strategy. Ward Group will survey conference participants to evaluate spending, staffing, and business concerns across 16 common functional areas. Particular focus will be given to evaluating agency compensation programs and advertising and marketing strategies. Results will be summarized by meaningful benchmark groups (such as size, product focus, distribution channel). The study and presentation, with time for discussion, will help participants:

• Examine common challenges and concerns senior management expect to face in the future related to the balance between growth and profit
• Better understand how companies are adapting to current economic conditions in terms of expense controls and spending limits
• Evaluate the use and perceived success of alternative marketing methods such as niche programs, social media, and affinity marketing
• Identify where companies are focusing resources and the drivers of those decisions
• Analyze current labor trends and future staffing expectations
• Gain perspective on labor challenges, market trends, and considerations for future strategy

Jeff Rieder, President
Ward Group
Cincinnati, Ohio

1 CPE Credit - Management Advisory Services

Important Note: The survey will be open from April 6 through May 1; please make sure at least one person from the company is registered by April 27 to participate in the study. All attendees registered on or before April 27 will receive a link to the confidential survey via email from Ward Group based on the email address used during the NAMIC registration process but a single set of responses should be submitted per participating company. All attendees will receive a copy of the results regardless of participation but participation is highly encouraged for maximum benefit.

10:50 - 11:10 a.m.

Networking Break

11:10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Power Session: Culturetopia – The Ultimate High Performance Workplace*
Based on his experience as an insider at famed Southwest Airlines and consultant to dozens of other Fortune 500 companies, Jason Young, author, trainer, and consultant, offers a dramatically different approach to creating and sustaining a high performance workplace. His solution for companies is to create an organizational culture where employees can do their best work and one that will produce the desired performance outcomes in productivity, profitability, employee retention and customer satisfaction. The key is intentionally identifying and developing the essential factors that impact performance for any organization: leadership principles, management practices, team alignment and employee behavior. These are the elements that truly define organizational culture and that have the greatest impact on results.

Jason Young, Author, Trainer, and Consultant
LeadSmart, Inc.
Dallas, Texas

*This session is based on Jason Young’s widely praised book Culturetopia. Check out what other corporate leaders have to say about Jason’s book and Culturetopia Concept.

“Jason cuts through all the clutter with his unique recipe for any organization searching for world-class morale and productivity. Culturetopia provides a quick, yet long lasting guide for employers and employees alike who are striving for a positive and prosperous work environment.”
Jim Wimberly, Chief Operating Officer (Ret.)
Southwest Airlines Co.

“Culturetopia nails it on the head when it comes to creating a high performance culture! Jason made it easy to apply the concepts to our entire team.”
Scott Schlackman, President
Avon Canada

“In a world where customer service and business excellence are in short supply, Culturetopia is the perfect handbook on how your organization can thrive and rise above the competition.”
John W. Isbell, Director, Training & Development
International House of Pancakes, Inc.

“Culturetopia is a book that will give you tools and processes to drive and sustain a high performance workplace where employees are satisfied and motivated. Read it, embrace it and your organization and employees will be a winner!”
Peggy Sease, Vice President Human Resources
University Hospital

12:30 p.m.

Business Sessions Adjourn

1:45 - 5 p.m.

Optional Activity: Disk Cooking School

1:45 - 5:30 p.m.

Optional Activity: 4x4 Off-Road Adventure

1:45 - 5:30 p.m.

Optional Activity: Zip Lining School

6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Closing Evening Festivities co-hosted by NAMIC & Gen Re
Join us for an interactive evening filled with fabulous food and entertainment set against dramatic mountain vistas. NAMIC and Gen Re are pleased to co-host a Vail Street Fair that will include delectable food stations and interactive entertainment. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to experience a taste of the Vail Valley lifestyle.