The Wind Insurance Network will host its 14th annual conference,WIND 2013, January 28-31 in Orlando, Florida. Well into its seconddecade as an educational event in the claims industry, and on theheels of a tumultuous year of wind damage, the timely content ofthe conference proves the words of executive director, MichelleGriffin: “No matter which direction the wind is blowing, WIND willbe there!” 

Griffin continues, “Our goal is to bring a fresh prospective tothe ever-changing claims environment in regards to windstorm whileallowing divergent points of view to be presented in a professionaland balanced manner. Each year, we hand select professionals fromthe various niche audiences that we serve, so that we have a freshapproach and constant pulse on what each group wants to learn andexplore.”

Q. How have the unique events of 2012shaped the industry and the conference thisyear?
A. According to Munich Re, theworld's biggest reinsurance firm, North America is experiencing atremendous rise in extreme weather disasters, a nearly fivefoldincrease over the past three decades. Specifically, Munich Rereported a 35-percent increase in the size of storms in the Gulf ofMexico since 1995 and also concluded that this is due to climatechange, which will unquestionably continue in thefuture.