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George Dale added to
lineup of speakers
George
Dale, who served more than 30 years as insurance commissioner of Mississippi,
will speak on political issues affecting property/casualty insurers in
an appearance recently added to our Main Event lineup.
Dale,
who won eight consecutive terms, was the nation's longest serving insurance
commissioner before being defeated in a party primary in 2007. His overview
of political issues affecting insurance underwriting will serve as a lead-in
to a panel of four company CEOs, described below.
Keynote Speaker
Our keynote speaker this year is W. Michael Cox, senior vice
president and chief economist of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, who
will speak on "Ten Important Long-Term Trends in the Economy."
Dubbed the "Prophet of Boom" by Wired magazine, Cox authors the
Dallas Fed's annual essays on living standards and the expanding global
economy. Cox's observations on the progress in Americans' level of material
well-being receive extensive coverage in major publications, and he is a
frequent guest on national media, including CNN, the Voice of America,
National Public Radio, and ABC programs hosted by John Stossel.
Other Outside Speakers
Hazardous Imports and Products Liability
From
toys to pharmaceuticals to pet food, products of all kinds have been in
the headlines for hazardous substances that have originated overseas.
Where does the chain of products liability lead when injury results from
these substances? What responsibility do local distributors and retailers--and
their insurers--have when the origin of these hazards cannot be identified
or accessed?
Josh Greenbaum is a member of the commercial
litigation practice group of Cozen O'Connor, one of the nation's leading
insurance defense firms. Greenbaum, who worked seven years in claims for
three carriers, will discuss what the firm has learned as it defends companies
involved in imports-related products liability litigation.
The Growth and Evolution of Rating
Variables
Insurers
are engaged in a high-stakes competition to identify and develop new variables
for determining the level of risk posed by different individuals, households,
and organizations. Carriers that can utilize some form of predictive modeling
based on these variables will be positioned to survive. Carriers that
cannot do that will find themselves adversely selected against.
Jeff Kucera, a consulting actuary from
EMB America, will describe what leading companies are doing in this regard
and what all companies
can do to stay competitive.
Underwriting E-commerce Insurance
Insurance
coverage for electronic information and business operations entails a
unique combination of property and liability exposures different from
those facing traditional tangible property.
No one knows better how to analyze those exposures, underwrite
them, and implement effective loss control than Robert Parisi,
Marsh USA's national practice leader for network risk, technology and
telecommunications. Before joining Marsh, Parisi was chief underwriting
officer for e-business risk solutions for AIG.
Catastrophe Modeling
It's been more than 15 years since Hurricane Andrew, and
the catastrophe modeling practices embraced after that event have matured
through refinements in data and modeling techniques in the wake of subsequent
disasters.
Robert Healy has been with the
EQECAT catastrophe modeling service since its inception in 1994, and
has
played a major role in developing it into one of the leading catastrophe
risk modeling and consulting firms.
Healy, now senior vice president of ABS Consulting, which owns EQECAT,
will describe the evolution of catastrophe modeling and point out the
possibilities and challenges that lie ahead.
The
2008 Main Event expands upon
popular features of last year’s conference.
AAIS Update
This year’s presentation on AAIS product research
and development will focus on three themes that follow upon topics presented
by other conference speakers.
- “New Distinctions in Rating and Classifications”
will describe current AAIS initiatives to refine its fire protection
classifications, develop an experience rating plan in Homeowners, incorporate
modeled data into property lines, and institute ZIP Code-based rating
territories.
- “The Next Wave in Rating Considerations”
will preview changes on the horizon for
AAIS rating plans. These include separate rating by peril for package
policies, particularly Homeowners, and further revision of rating factors
to reflect results of multivariate analysis and predictive modeling.
- “Key Coverage Issues” will
highlight certain exposures being addressed by changes in AAIS policy
language, such as the definition of “agritainment” in farm
liability, refinements to Homeowners provisions addressing water damage,
and the crafting of commercial umbrella language that will apply independently
of the underlying policies. This segment will conclude with a look at
emerging issues that may call for future changes to policy language.
Roundtable Discussions
Additional time is being allotted to this year’s
roundtable discussions, which will provide attendees with more detailed
information on the topics presented in the AAIS Update, and give them a
chance to discuss these developments with new AAIS staff members.
Attendees can select from among four roundtables:
- Personal Lines, moderated by Susan Luecke,
assistant vice president of personal lines and leader of the team that
developed the latest AAIS Homeowners revision.
- Commercial Lines, moderated by Tony Leist,
assistant vice president of commercial lines and project leader for the
AAIS Commercial Umbrella Program revision.
- Farm and Agriculture, moderated by Sherry Taylor,
manager of farm and agribusiness and our leading expert for the development
of new farm commercial liability forms and rating classifications.
- Executive, moderated by Paul Baiocchi,
AAIS president.
Other AAIS staff members who will be at the conference
and in the roundtable discussions include:
Greg Jaynes, director of actuarial services;
David Linton, vice president of technical services;
Debi Summerlin vice president of insurance lines; and
Joyce Tignino, vice president of marketing and industry
relations.
CEO Panel
A panel of company CEOs will address political and economic
issues that impact companies’ pricing and underwriting decisions.
Among the panelists will be:
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AAIS Vice Chairman
Darin Kath, president and CEO of Jewelers Mutual Ins. Co., Neenah, Wisc.;
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Robert Restrepo, chairman, president, and
CEO of State Auto Ins. Cos., Columbus, Ohio; and
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Robert Wadsworth, chairman and CEO of
Preferred Mutual Ins. Co., New Berlin, N.Y., and former chairman of
AAIS and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
AAIS Chairman
James Sullivan, president and CEO of Co-Operative Ins. Cos.,
Middlebury, Vt., will moderate the panel.
For more information, contact Joe Harrington at
joeh@AAISonline.com
or by calling 800-564-AAIS.
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| SUNDAY,
APRIL 20 |
Sunday
evening
Opening reception
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| MONDAY,
APRIL 21 |
Monday
morning
Breakfast
Business Session
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Monday
afternoon
Golf Outing
Boat Cruise
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Monday
evening
Reception
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| TUESDAY,
APRIL 22 |
Tuesday
morning
Breakfast
Business Session
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Tuesday
morning-afternoon
Spouse/Guest tour
of Jacksonville
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Tuesday
afternoon
Luncheon
Rountable Discussions
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Tuesday
evening
Closing reception and dinner
Beach Party |
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