When the countdown ends on 2009, it also brings an end to thefirst decade of the new millennium. It's hard to believe how muchour world has changed in those 10 short years, from globalterrorism (still happening) to the financial meltdown to theascendancy of the Internet. Let's look at just a few:

Everything tech. Yes, the Internet was aroundat the turn of the century, but it wasn't as ubiquitous as it isnow. Since then, a whole generation has grown up with thistechnology, and that generation is our future employees andcustomers. While all this has made our lives a lot easier, it'salso phased out a lot of what we were confortable with and raisedthe bar on customer expectations. A mixed blessing, to say theleast.

A world of new risks. The world is smaller, andthe risks you underwrite are not like anything that's been insuredbefore. Acts of terrorism, environmental exposures, professionalliability related to new technology standards and expectations —they're all in the mix, with new risks coming at us every day. Thechallenge for our industry will be to keep one step ahead ofanything new that comes along.