Business, Personal Health Advice On Tap For NAPSLO Mid-Year Meeting

Whether you have questions about your personal health or the health of the industry, or are looking for tips on running your business, the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices Mid-Year Workshop might have the answer.

"Beyond the normal networking activity that NAPSLO is famous for, the purpose of this meeting is to provide some educational content," noted Marshall Kath, NAPSLO secretary and chair of the Mid-Year Educational Workshop committee.

The educational sessions at this year's conference--at the Renaissance Esmeralda resort in Indian Wells, Calif.--kicks off today with a general interest program on cancer and a discussion of the industry landscape.

Mr. Kath, chief executive officer of the wholesale brokerage firm Colemont Insurance Brokers in Dallas, said general interest programs are often well received at conferences, and he thinks the first session on cancer will resonate with many people.

The cancer session will be presented by Dr. Lonzetta Newman from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who will discuss what is happening on the research front in the fight against cancer and offer statistics related to the disease and who is affected.

Also this morning, NAPSLO Executive Director Richard Bouhan and Maria Berthoud of B&D Consulting (NAPSLO's Washington, D.C. lobbying firm) will headline a panel to discuss how the current economic, legislative and political climate is affecting the insurance industry--and wholesale brokers in particular.

Tomorrow there will be three 50-minute educational sessions covering finance, human resources and technology, Mr. Kath noted, explaining that the three sessions will run concurrently at 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Since each session will be presented twice, attendees can take advantage of the opportunity to gain valuable information on two different topics. If more than one representative from a firm is attending, they can attend all three sessions and share what they've learned.

Mr. Kath said the finance session, "Stop Budgeting and Start Running Your Business," will feature Steve Player, a management consultant from The Player Group of Dallas. "We help companies understand how to run their firms more effectively without a budget," Mr. Player said. Instead, executives will learn to use adaptive planning and continuous controls to run their businesses.

Mr. Player questions how executives can put together fixed budgets when the market is blowing up and gyrating in an unwieldy fashion. It makes predicting the future of a business difficult, he said. By adopting a continuous planning process, business owners work off a plan based on relationships and variable factors. If things go well, the company grows. If not, the company can defend and survive, he added.

It is a more effective process for management teams to work with, he said, and executives will discover they can grow their businesses more rapidly because their aim is no longer "just hitting the numbers."

"It is a great education for how senior leaders should lead in these turbulent times," Mr. Player said.

Mr. Kath said insight into the crush of laws surrounding human resource issues is also an important topic for any employer, noting that another Saturday session will feature an attorney who is an expert on the subject. The session, "Conquering the Legal World of Human Resources," will be conducted by Jonathan A. Siegel of Jackson Lewis LLP in Newport Beach, Calif., a law firm specializing in HR litigation for employers.

Mr. Siegel said the sessions will focus on three major areas:

o Proper discipline and termination of employees.

o Compliance with this year's amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

o Avoiding wage-and-hour lawsuits.

Particularly during tough economic times, employers must know how to properly discipline and terminate employees, according to Mr. Siegel.

"There is an increased likelihood of litigation in the current economic environment, and employers must properly document and communicate performance issues way before termination, so when they do get to terminating an individual there is no surprise," he explained.

One common mistake among employers is when they discipline staff, they fail to clearly show what needs to be corrected, when and how.

As for the federal ADA amendments that took effect this year, the session will explore how employers are impacted and how the changes might increase disability claim litigation. New definitions make it easier for an individual to declare a disability under the law.

Mr. Siegel said many employers may not understand the impact of the new amendments and the multitude of layers in state, federal and workers' compensation laws and regulations that could affect their business--including the impact of family leave laws.

Finally, employers will learn how they can avoid the kinds of issues over wage-and-hour disputes that might subject them to litigation. Mr. Siegel will explain the most current issues in the law and common sense best practices that attendees can use to run their businesses.

"We want [employers] to be sensitive to these developments and the processes to comply with the regulations, but we also want employers to be sensitive to the practical effects of how this will impact their business," Mr. Siegel said. "It is not just the lawyer or the HR manager or the owner who should understand these issues, but it is also important that they train their managers."

Mr. Kath said the remaining Saturday session on technology will focus on one of the areas of greatest interest to NAPSLO members--increasing productivity.

"How can I do more and how am I best leveraging my time" are questions that E&S professionals continually seek to answer, he said, adding that past NAPSLO sessions offered on tech and productivity have always received high marks from attendees.

This year, Chris Cogburn from Colemont will give participants tips and tricks on how to use their BlackBerrys more efficiently.