WITH the arrival of September, the fall convention season gets into full swing. There will be no shortage of issues to talk about–starting right off with Hurricane Katrina's effect on the insurance industry. According to the earliest damage estimates, Katrina, the killer storm that at the end of last month narrowly missed making a direct hit on New Orleans, may or may not top Hurricane Andrew as the most expensive hurricane for insurers; but without question, it will produce enormous losses for them. And as Labor Day approached, hurricane season was just getting into gear.
How Katrina (and any storms that come after it) may affect insurers, reinsurers and the softening market is only one of many issues that will be taken up at the fall meetings. Others include the debate over the renewal of the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, the proposed State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency Act, and agent and broker compensation and disclosure in the Spitzer era. The meetings also offer great opportunities to network with peers and carriers, and to pick up continuing education credits. Here is a list of some of the upcoming meetings. You'll have to hustle to get to some of them.
Sept. 10-12: The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's 2005 Big "I" Convention. This will be IIABA's farewell fall convention. Starting next year, the event will be combined with the association's spring National Legislative Conference. Since the convention takes place in New York–and on 9/11 to boot–it is only fitting that the keynote speaker will be Rudy Giuliani, the city's mayor during the crisis. Other highlights include a panel discussion featuring five insurer CEOs and a trade fair with well over 100 exhibitors. The convention will take place at the New York Hilton in Manhattan. For more information, call (800) 221-7917 or visit www.iiaba.org.
Sept. 14-18: The National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices' Annual Convention. Much of the event will be devoted to networking for the 3,000-plus attendees. Columnist George F. Will will be a speaker. The event will be held at the San Francisco Marriott Hotel. For more information, visit www.napslo.org.
Oct. 8-12: The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers Insurance Leadership Forum. Speakers will include former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell. Lauren Bacall also will appear. As always, the meeting takes place at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. For more information, contact Paula Karchner at (202) 783-4400 or visit www.ciab.com.
Oct. 17-19: The Fifth Annual Target Markets Program Administrators Association Summit. Highlights will include workshops covering such subjects as the characteristics of successful program administrators, and how to start and sell new programs. Former Notre Dame football player Daniel "Rudy" Rettinger, the subject of a 1993 movie about his only appearance in a game (he sacked the opposing quarterback), will be a speaker. The event will be held at the Mission Palms Resort in Tempe, Ariz. For more information, call (877) 347-5700 or visit www.targetmkts.com.
Oct. 18-22: Applied Systems Client Network's 20th Annual Technology, Education and Networking Conference. Numerous technical workshops will be offered at the annual "TENcon" meeting as well as presentations on such subjects as agent compensation and disclosure, and agency business practices. The event will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. For more information, visit www.ascnet.org.
Oct. 22-25: The CPCU Society's 61st Annual Meeting and Seminars. The meeting's keynote speaker will be financial analyst Lou Dobbs. More than 40 workshops will be offered, covering such issues as executive liability insurance, coverage for identity theft, alternative risk financing, sales techniques and the State Modernization and Regulation Transparency Act. The meeting will be held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel. For more information, call (800) 932-CPCU, Option 5, or visit www.cpcusociety.org.
Nov. 7-10: The 25th International Risk Management Institute Construction Risk Conference. More than 30 workshops will be offered at this annual event, held not only for contractors, developers and architects but also for insurance agents, brokers and underwriters who serve them. Among the workshops will be "Minimizing the Risk of Construction Defect Litigation" and "The Changing Face of Additional Insurance Coverage." Keynote speakers include Patrick G. Ryan, executive chairman of Aon Corp. The conference takes place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.irmi.com.
Nov. 10: The American Association of Managing General Agents' Mid Year Meeting. The meeting will take place at The Lodge at Rancho Mirage in Rancho Mirage, Calif. For more information, visit www.aamga.org.
Nov. 13-15: The Professional Liability Underwriting Society International Conference. The event will feature more than a dozen workshops, including sessions dealing with insurance regulation, lawyers professional liability, directors and officers liability insurance, and medical malpractice insurance. Among the keynote speakers will be Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York, and John Ashcroft, former U.S. attorney general. The event will be held at the Boston Sheraton and Marriott Copley Place hotels. For more information, visit www.plusweb.org.
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Errors and Omissions: In last month's issue, we published an article bylined by Thomas Redmond Jr., CPCU, "Acquiring the Knack of Calling Prospects for Appointments." We should have noted that the article was derived from Mr. Redmond's presentation at last fall's CPCU Society Annual Meeting and Seminars.
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