'Great Debate' Over Federal Regulation Tops NU Virtual Conference

The debate over state versus federal regulation, the latest twists in enterprise risk management, the newest trends in predictive analytics and the battle to contain workers' compensation costs are among the hot topics addressed at "Facing The Future Of Insurance," the second annual online conference and exposition produced by National Underwriter and two of its fellow publications, Claims and Tech Decisions.

The two-day virtual event will take place on Sept. 24 and 25. Go to http://presentations.inxpo.com/Shows/Summit/09-08/Registration/agenda.htm to register. There is no charge to attend, and the first 500 to register will receive a free Starbucks gift card.

The conference will feature seven sessions, as well as a virtual exhibit area. NU will present three sessions:

o The Great Debate: Federal vs. State Regulation, Sept. 24, 11 a.m.-to-Noon, EST.

The president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Sandy Praeger of Kansas, faces off against the president of the American Insurance Association, Marc Racicot, in a debate over whether state regulation merely needs to be reformed, or if it would be better for consumers and the industry for Uncle Sam to offer an optional federal charter.

"With Congress considering the creation of a national Office of Insurance Information, as well as bills to set nationwide standards for oversight of surplus lines, reinsurance and producer licensing, this debate is more than just academic," said NU Editor In Chief Sam Friedman, who will moderate the discussion.

o The State of ERM--Enterprise & Entrepreneurial Risk Management, Sept. 25, 11 a.m.-to-Noon, EST.

Moderated by Assistant Managing Editor Caroline McDonald, this session offers two parts, each led by board members of the Risk and Insurance Management Society.

The first section--featuring Daniel Kugler, assistant treasurer of risk management at Snap-On Inc.--shows how "entrepreneurial" risk management can raise a risk manager's profile, promote their value, better measure results and develop relationships with peers and senior management. Tips will be offered for getting the most out of captives, as well as repositioning risk management's goals and processes to become a profit center.

The second part--featuring John Phelps, director of business risk solutions for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, reveals results from a newly released RIMS survey on enterprise risk management. Among the questions: How widespread is ERM? How effective is it? To what extent is the C-Suite engaged in the ERM process?

o What Does It Take To Tackle Workers' Comp Risks?--Sept. 25, 12:30-to-1:30, EST.

The three winners of NU's second annual "Award For Excellence In Workers' Compensation Risk Management" share the secrets of their success in a session moderated by Mr. Friedman.

Risk managers from ServiceMaster (David Hopps), The Walt Disney Company (Tim East) and Select Staffing (Fred Pachon) provide practical insights on how to reduce accident frequency and severity, improve back-to-work performance and more effectively manage claims--all while gaining senior management and companywide support for loss control and safety initiatives.

Other sessions at the virtual conference include:

o Hail Damage to Roofs, Sept. 24, 12:30-to-1:30 EST.

This course gives students a comprehensive look at hail damage to all major roofing types. Among the points discussed is hail damage to asphalt composition shingles, wood shingles and shakes, concrete and clay tiles, slate, built-up roofing, modified bitumen roofing, single-ply membranes, polyurethane foam, and metal roofing.

For each of these roofing types, the instructor--Tim Marshall, P.E.--discusses the hailstone size needed to cause losses and typical characteristics of hail damage. He also compares typical hail losses to other common types of roof damage.

o Predictive Analytics: Unstructured Data Dilemma--Sept. 24, 2-to-3 p.m., EST

With estimates that up to 90 percent of the data received by insurers is unstructured, a carrier's ability to garner quality information and turn it into useful predictive analytics can be extremely difficult.

"Semantic technology solves this problem by recognizing topics and concepts, extracting information, and categorizing it," said Karen Pauli, research director in the insurance practice at TowerGroup. She will provide an overview of predictive analytics, and then funnel it down to the problem of unstructured data, and how its absence from the data pools utilized by predictive analytics can decrease its accuracy.

Kaleb Adams, assistant vice president of claims research for The Hartford, will continue the discussion by offering the how's and why's of implementing semantic technology from an insurer perspective.

His remarks will include an analysis of the unstructured data problems that The Hartford was facing, why they wanted to solve it, the results they're seeing having implemented the technology, and the benefits they expect to see in the future.

This session will be moderated by Robert Hyle, associate editor of Tech Decisions.

o Speed and Ease: Underwriting at Its Best, Sept. 24, 3:30-to-4:30 p.m., EST.

Speed-to-market and ease of doing business have become two of the most hyped phrases in the world of insurance. This session explores the latest trends, strategies and implementations that maximize automation efficiencies between underwriters and agents to turn the hype into profitable reality.

Speaking are Robert J. Asensio, chief information officer of Darwin Professional Underwriters, and Donald Light, a senior analyst at Celent.

o Claims In A Climate Of Change, Sept. 25, 2-to-3 p.m. EST.

This session, moderated by Claims Editor Eric Gilkey, confronts the fact that whether or not global warming is a reality, there are already legal cases and insurance claims being tendered.

In this free-form discussion, an insurance defense attorney and an coverage expert will explain what constitutes a global warming claim, summarize current climate-change litigation, and provide guidance in assessing whether coverage might apply.

Speakers include legal expert Suzanne Badawi, a partner in the law firm of Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps, and coverage expert Diana Reitz, editorial director of FC&S Online, and affiliate of NU.