People in my field sometimes get caught up in what we do and think everyone in the industry should care as much—or more—about a certain issue or event as we do. That's kind of how I approach this week, which is the start of a busy month that includes this week's ACORD LOMA Insurance Systems Forum and early June's IASA Educational Conference and Business Show. Hopefully I can explain why they should be important for you as well.

These two conferences are similar in that they offer many educational opportunities for those who work in insurance IT—and for those like me that cover the industry. These two events also bring together another important part of the insurance IT family: software solutions providers.

There was once a time when the only way for people to get continuing education in such a specific field as insurance IT was to travel to conferences such as these and hope the organizers put together a solid program. Today, companies can have the option of having their employees sit at their desks and take part in programs over the Internet. If you look around hard enough, you can likely find an insurance IT webinar each week of the year.

Conferences have always been a way for potential customers to meet with suppliers. Again, in today's work environment, much of this can be done electronically or, if the vendor senses you may be a willing buyer, a personal visit to your office for a demo.

So why should you hop on a plane and spend three days in a hotel/conference center?

ACORD, LOMA, and IASA spend a great deal of time working on the educational opportunities presented at their conferences. Certainly companies have to weigh the value of travel vs. desktop, but one thing that technology can't deliver is the interaction that comes when people with similar problems and issues sit down and discuss various approaches to a situation.

The same goes with the business show where the vendors display their wares. It is easier than ever to shop for the software tools that you need, but having the ability to visit multiple vendors selling similar products can't be duplicated in the home office.

The ability to speak with vendor customers in such a setting is invaluable. Insurers that are looking to replace core systems—systems that have been in place for over 20 years—have people in key decision-making positions that have never done anything like this before. A career of hard work and training has prepared them for this moment, but getting some more guidance can't be overlooked.

Hopefully, many of you who read this will look me up at this week's ACORD LOMA conference here in Orlando or the IASA conference in San Diego that begins on June 3. Tell me what kind of value you are getting from the show and what more you'd like to learn about the important issues facing this industry.

We also can talk about why these two groups schedule similar events three weeks apart, but that's the subject of another blog.

Like I said up top, this is an important few weeks for many in the industry and we all need to work together so we can get the most out of them.

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Getting Away From It All: Conference Season Begins

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