The Property Loss Research Bureau and the Liability Insurance Research Bureau is gearing up for another year at the annual Claims Conference, which is being held in Boston at the Sheraton Boston, Boston Marriott, and the Hynes Convention Center on April 13-16, 2008. The show will be packed with useful information for claim professionals and has created a buzz for being one of the most anticipated events in the claim industry.

PLRB/LIRB plans to uphold its reputation for putting on a quality conference by hosting speakers who have established presences in their fields and who can deliver a message that PLRB members can carry with them throughout their careers. This year's general session speaker will be Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin, whose latest work is bestseller Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. This book aims to guide business and political leaders by highlighting Lincoln's leadership qualities.

Coming Attractions

Beyond the keynote presentation, this year's conference will feature 240 speakers, but there is another stand-out that you won't want to miss. Robert Pike is the president of his own training company, The Bob Pike Group, and specializes in adult training. He has attracted many trainers to his Creative Training Techniques workshop.

“He has a train-the-trainer approach and has been doing it for many years as one of the top five corporate training people countrywide,” said Scott Powell, assistant vice president of educational and technical services for PLRB. “He is going to do some interactive training sessions on how to build activity and interaction into adult education, and that is going to be pretty special.”

The conference will provide information on 100 different topics, with 25 concurrent sessions in 12 curriculum areas. To create an event that can educate all types of claim professionals, PLRB/LIRB planners used a variety of ways to ensure the needs of the industry were met.

“We have a planning committee of 45 people who are past presenters from insurance companies or service providers,” said Powell. “We capture a lot of feedback when we meet with them, as well as through surveys. We are in contact periodically with these people and we look at industry publications like Claims Magazine and see what is going on, staying as closely aligned as we can. I talk to representatives of the carriers and ask where they are experiencing difficulties in training, and we follow some of the same areas of concern.”

What's Hot?

Some of the topics that the conference will explore will come from across the spectrum of claim types, but other hot-button issues will get more of the spotlight this year.

“Wind versus water continues to be a big issue for us, as well as building code requirements for repairs and content claim-handling excellence,” said Valerie Berka, meetings manager for PLRB. “Those will be the big-ticket sessions this year.”

Between breakout sessions, be sure to take in the Insurance Services Expo. The sold-out exhibit hall will showcase more than 300 companies and will be open April 14 and 15. According to Powell, the conference has pushed for more casualty-oriented exhibitors to balance out the property side, which has dominated the expo in the past.

In sticking with the popular business mantra “do more with less,” continuing education credit is an important factor to consider for many industry professionals thinking of attending, and PLRB has been approved for credit in several states. And in keeping with last year's new trend of videotaping selected sessions for distance learning initiatives, even more videotaping will be conducted this year.

For more information on the conference, registration, and continuing education information, go to www.claimsconf.org.

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