With the one of the biggestmeetings in the insurance industry just days awaythe Risk and Insurance Management Society's annual conference in Orlandoattendance is on the minds of many.

The way the economy is going, with company layoffs and belt-tightening, its only natural to wonder how budget constraints will affect conference attendance.

I blogged earlier that attendance at the Captive Insurance Companies Association conference in March was down by about 20 percent, which wasnt a bad turnout. Whats more,attendees I talked to were pleased with what they got out of the conference.

RIMS President Joe Restoule told me recentlythatthe RIMS exhibit hall is sold out and attendance is looking good. He expects attendance will dip slightly below last years, but because of last minute registrations, wont know until after the conference.

In the public sector, Sarah Perry, president of the Public Risk Management Association, said last month thatrevenue sources are tight and public entities are cutting back wherever they can. This also translates to slashed travel budgets and fewer representatives sent to conferences.

I also talked to Lance Ewing, vice president of risk management with Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., who observed that because everyone is in a cost cutting mode right now, fewer risk managers are jumping on planes to attend conferences and meetings and more are making use of technologies.

Youre seeing travel budgets cut by many risk management departments, he said. In some ways this can handcuff you, while in other ways it forces you to work smarter and utilize the technology thats being developed on a more regular basis.

Technology has come a very long way, costs less and provides many more options than in the past. For instance,phone-in conference calls are used regularly now for interviews.

At his own organization, he said more meetings are Web-based or being conducted telephonically. Also, organizations are hosting more webinars and pushing people to Web sites more than we have in the past, said Mr. Ewing, a former RIMS president.

But while increased use of technology seems to be working, he joked: I dont think youll ever get away from the underwriter and client meetings, thoughtoo many golf courses out there.

My question: Is technology use on the rise in your organization? Is it replacing travel? What trips have been removed from your agenda?

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