Wheaton, Ill., Jan. 25, 2012--The lessons of 2011's devastating natural disasters will be a major focus of the 2012 AAIS Main Event conference for insurers, April 15-17 at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, La, Jolla, Calif.

Under the theme “Seeing Your Way Through,” this conference will provide timely, practical information to help insurers see their way to success through the many challenges they face. For complete information, and to register, go to www.AAISonline.com.

Three prominent speakers at the event will analyze the implications of severe weather catastrophes of recent years:

• John Ferree, severe storm services leader for the National Weather service;

• Ryan Ogaard, senior vice president, model product management, RMS, Inc; and

• Andrew Castaldi, senior vice president and head of catastrophe perils for the Americas, Swiss Re.

In another segment, two other experts will provide complementary presentations on how trends in demographics, economics, and other areas are affecting market opportunities in homeowners insurance:

•  Peter Francese, renowned demographer and founder of American Demographics magazine; and

• Linda Brobeck, FCAS, MAAA, principal of Brobeck Analytics and a longtime researcher for Allstate Ins. Co.

The Main Event is a management conference devoted to product-related concerns of strategic importance to property/casualty insurers.

Attendees include senior executives, department heads, and product specialists for primary P/C companies, plus representatives of reinsurers, software vendors, and other industry organizations. Attendance at the Main Event has grown steadily in recent years, nearly doubling over the past decade.

The meeting is sponsored by the American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS), a national advisory and statistical organization that develops policy forms and rating information used by more than 700 insurers throughout the U.S. Attendance is open to all insurers and others in the P/C business, whether they use AAIS programs or not.

In addition to presentations by outside speakers, the Main Event features:

• A separate inland marine track exploring the use of data-driven decisions and analytics in that line;

• A report by AAIS staff on recent and impending developments in AAIS insurance line programs; and

• Roundtable discussions led by AAIS staff on topics in personal, commercial, and farm insurance.

For complete details, and to register, go to www.AAISonline.com.

If you have questions, contact Joseph Harrington, AAIS director of corporate communications, by email or by calling 800-564-AAIS, ext. 217.