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One conference that I felt was very beneficial was the PCS Conference, the last one I was able to attend contained some very good seminars on subjects like earthquakes and bluetooth technology.

I was attending a hurricane drill at the same time that the RIMS Conference was going on and was able speak to many peope who attended it and based on their feedback it sounds like a good one to attend also.

I attended one in New Orleans in 1995 that was put on by I believe PCS and it was a great conference. It was 2 days long and had a lot of 1-2 hr speakers that provided a good general perspective on various aspects of cat claims (New Madrid Fault, hail claims, flood work and even had one of the pilots that fly into the hurricanes to test wind speed, etc) It was an excellent well rounded conference, and was complimented by a big rainstorm that created the worst flooding New Orleans had seen up to that point in time. I was staff at the time and I think it was probably a pretty pricey conference, but was well worth it.

NACA always has a very informative and interesting conference. This year it is being held in Ft Worth, Texas in January. They have more info on their website.

I attended the NACA conference last year in Las Vegas and found it very informative.  The members were very knowledgeable and easy to talk with.  I look forward to the next one.

All-Cat had a good conference in Boerne, TX this year. I usually attend the Eberls conference. Their next one is in Denver in February. This is where I obtain most of my CE credits for a fairly reasonable cost. You can get State Farm certs, USAA cert, CEA, NFIP and they usually have an ethics class, and a class on depositions, etc. Good way to network also.

If I was starting out in this up and down business of cat adjusting, this is what I would do with regards to "conferences"...

NACA is the best conference around for cat adjusters who want to be only cat adjusters.  You will meet the best-of-the-best (i.e. adjusters who work as much as they want), learn alot about the biz and network like crazy.  This conference won't get you connected to carriers but it will help you learn your trade.

PLRB is the biggest show of the year.  In 2007 it will be in Orlando in March and over 300 exhibitors and 2000 attendees will be there for a fun 2 days.  Once you know your stuff, the PLRB will allow you easy access to the biggest cat vendors and get you business cards for resumes (don't bring resumes, show time is not the time, email your resumes later).

2006 was a lean year for storms...no telling what 2007 will bring....

John Postava

 

 

I agree with John, NACA is great (Ft Worth Jan 8-11). The only one I've missed since I joined was last year due to work. Pacesetter (PCS) has a conference on occassion (not annually) and they are always well presented and meaningful. Eberls is probably the best of the regular annual vendor conferences. The Eberls conference this year is in Denver Feb 19-22. If you like to be around a lot of PAs (gold jewelery and black clothes to boot) along with attorneys try the Windstorm Conference Jan 9-Feb1 in Tampa. PLRB is a heavy conference set up for insurance company staff more than IAs and would be like trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant for a newby to go to but, again per John above, it is a place to get in front of some claim vendors.

KLS

Kim, good stuff on the Wind Conference and I agree.  Not a bad way to spot a PA from afar.

I just returned from the PLRB Large Loss Conference in Austin and it was terrific.  Those in charge weren't kidding around when they called the sessions 'working' sessions.  The seating is at round tables and you do sit among the finest professionals in the industry.  The adjusters that attended were astute in discussing their wealth of experience.  The conference was organized into large losses in three tracks: Casualty, Personal Lines Property, and Commercial Lines Property.

The instructors worked extremely hard at designing the breakout sessions so that a generous supply of information was given (names altered of course) for recent claims scenarios.  They then turned the tables for a Socratic approach by allowing the audience to think and provide the solutions.

Off hand, I recall three sessions where this approach was noticeably rewarding for everyone in the room.  The first was the one lead by Jim Whipple with Crawford and Co. teamed up with an attorney and a CPA.  A large Business Interruption loss ($36 million) to a hospital was discussed.  Coverage was provided with a liberal manuscript policy.

The next session was an actual claim involving a political figure who committed arson.  It was lead by Gil Minock with Amerisure Ins. Co. along with an ATF agent and several attorneys.  Fraud indicators and good faith procedures were discussed.

Last, but not least, was a session led by Attorney James Wraith with CPA Dixon Grier and a claims AVP with AIG, Fred Fredrick.  James admittedly likes to "talk coverage by the hour", but, with his team, led the audience to contribute important coverage and scoping issues faced with a multi-million dollar loss.  In short, the claim sample involved a category 5 hurricane (wind only) loss to a single insured with a two building retirement center, a hospital, and a strip mall.  Many more details were given to make this elaborate web of a claim difficult to solve in less than two (2) hours.

My take-away from this one was to make sure that the adjuster faced with this loss has a set protocol going in and controls the investigation and its restoration.  The reactionary reconciliation of invoices was a problem much too prevalent in 2005.  A lot of this, granted, was due to a shortage of qualified adjusters.  Yet still, we had experienced adjusters who saw this method as acceptable in spite of the labor shortage.  Numerous other tips useful in this type of claim were shared, but you just had to be there...

It looks like the 2007 PLRB Claims Conference in Orlando is going to be just as good, but loaded up (as John mentioned above) with many more breakout sessions, and a greater number of experts than the Large Loss conference.

I just returned from the 2007 PLRB Conference in Orlando, FL and had a great time.  Now I know what John was talking about above, it was quite a show.  Tons of vendors (IA's, Software, Tools, Engineering, Construction Specialist, and of course the Catastrophe GC's) and insurance carrier personnel were in attendance.  The average experience level of those in attendance was a significant 22 years.  It was truly a pleasure to be surrounded by such experience and to meet those who have been in and out of the trenches several times.  It was nice to see their genuine interest in sharing knowledge to improve the quality of the insurance industry.

There were numerous courses to choose from that, of course, dealt with both Commercial and Personal Property Claims.  Several others dealt with Liability claims issues that you'd likely run into while in the Property Claims realm such as Bad Faith, Animal Liability, Garage Coverage, Crime Coverage, and others.  This conference was not catastrophe focused, but there were still plenty of courses that dealt with issues regarding claims adjusting and management in the catastrophe arena.

While not endorsed by PLRB, there were plenty of events and festivities provided by the vendors for most everyone to attend.  If for some reason you didn't get an invite, you could always take advantage of the numerous things available nearby at Walt Disney World.

Edit Portion: I forgot to mention the number of those in attendance: 2,000 - 2,500.