About the Event
Program
Speakers
Registration
Sponsors & Exhibitors
Travel/Hotel
Award Information
Special Offers
Sponsoring Publications:
Claims : Covering the Business of Loss
FC&S

2008 Agenda   

Monday, June 9, 2008

1:00 PM

Registration Opens

 

2:00 PM

Exhibit Hall Opens

 

Product Sponsored Roundtables

Choose Sessions from Track A or B

 

1:30 PM - 2:15 PM

Track A

Analog verus Digital:
What medium are you trusting your claim statements to?

A discussion about the benefits of digital storage of claim statements compared to the traditional analog cassettes.

 

Michael Glynn

Regional Sales Manager

Calibrus

 

Track B

Improve Liability Expense Ratios through
Claim Settlement Acceleration

An industry study has found that the average cycle time from first offer to settlement of a typical plaintiff lawyer represented bodily injury claim is approximately 6 months.  This discussion will focus on proven cycle time reduction solutions that progressive claims executives and liability process managers leverage to minimize defense costs and loss pay while improving adjuster capacity and customer satisfaction.

 

Charles Brofman

President & CEO

Cybersettle

 

David Siesko

Principal

Siesko Partners

  

2:30 PM - 3:15 PM

Track A

Thriving Without Paper: Beyond Claims and Underwriting

Session explores how enterprise imaging can help an organization navigate today’s complex regulatory landscape, create new efficiencies in the areas of claims & underwriting, increase employee productivity and much more.

  

Richard Heilbrunn

Director of Operations
IMG - International Medical Group


Sascha Ohler

Sr. Product Manager
Perceptive Software

  

Track B

Vendor Management Cost Control – Beyond Legal e-billing

Hear how Allegient can help you implement a comprehensive vendor management approach to cost control, including independent adjusters and other vendor types.

 

John F. Kelly

CEO

Allegient Systems

 

3:30 PM - 4:15 PM

Track A

Catastrophe Claim Handling:  Emergency Response Communication and Data Solutions

This session will explore communication and data transfer options available for catastrophe claim handling, including emergency response solutions that address communication continuity elements under the most extreme conditions.

 

John Stevenson

Sprint Emergency Response Solutions Team

Sprint

 

Track B

Preserving Policyholder Benefits: Developing an effective
Medical Cost Management Program

Utilization of auto/jurisdiction specific technology & professional medical evaluation services – results in consistent, accurate, and equitable outcomes for insureds and increases claim processing productivity.

 

Matt Elges

President

Auto Injury Solutions


Dr. Michael Donnelly, MD FACP

Medical Director

Auto Injury Solutions


Chris Watson

COO

Auto Injury Solutions

 

Steve Geistfeld

VP Sales

Auto Injury Solutions

 

4:30 PM

Conference Chairman’s Welcome

Eric Gilkey

Editor

Claims Magazine

 

Welcome Address

Sponsored by Fineos

Mike Jackowski

Vice President, Claim Technology Services

Allstate

 

5:15 PM – 6:30 PM

Welcome Cocktail Reception

Sponsored by Sprint

 

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

 

8:00 AM

Registration / Showcase Exhibits

 

8:00 AM

Continental Breakfast

Sponsored by Esquire Deposition Services

 

8:45 AM

Introduction by Conference Chairman:

Claim Professional of the Year

 

Eric Gilkey

Editor

Claims Magazine

 

The 2008 Claim Professional of the Year Award is sponsored by Claims magazine and Smith & Brink, P.C., Attorneys At Law

 

9:30 AM

Keynote Address

 

Take the Stairs

  • Choose service
  • Choose leadership
  • Choose servant leadership

Roger L. Looyenga

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Auto-Owners Insurance Group

 

10:15 AM

Networking Refreshments

Sponsored By Metro Appraisal

 

10:15 AM

Showcase Exhibits

                      

10:45 AM                   

Keynote Address

 

Fulfilling the Promise of Insurance: Achieving Best Practices
in Claims

 

J. John Wortman

Chief Executive Officer

Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation

 

CONCURRENT SESSIONS BEGIN

Choose Sessions from Track A or B

A. Technology Education – Sponsored by CSC

B. Business Operations – Sponsored by Athenium

 

11:30 PM

Track A

Streamlining the Claims Desktop — New Technology Centralizes Claims Tools and Orchestrates Processes

Specialized claims software now helps evaluate a wide range of expenses such as bodily injuries, litigation and fraudulent claims and interacts with third-party providers such as repair vendors, salvage dealers and medical bill review firms. While these software tools help, the array of tools can actually hamper productivity. Leading insurers have confronted these challenges and for the first time, claims managers can now envision processes bereft of paper that actually orchestrate claims workflows and support goals for improved customer service and increased consistency and accuracy.

 

Stuart Bailey

Vice President, Claims

Unitrin Business Solutions        

 

Track B

Case Study: Measuring to Achieve Breakthrough
Claims Performance

The best possible outcomes, for both insurer and insured, rest on the shoulders – and the judgment – of the claims professional. MetLife Auto & Home's continuous Claims File Review process, along with a comprehensive Quality Assurance Process, has driven dramatic gains in business performance by improving the decision making skills of its claims professionals. This session will detail how MetLife Auto & Home has reduced adjusting errors, aligned behaviors with best practices, and delivered on the promise of high customer satisfaction.

 

Betsy Wilkerson, CPCU, AIS, SM

Claim Technical Administrator

MetLife

 

Hala Wilmar, AIC, AIS, SM

Home Office Manager

MetLife

 

12:30 PM

Networking Luncheon / Showcase Exhibits

 

2:00 PM

Track A      

Technology Enabled Claims Performance Improvement

This session will examine how new technology is changing the way claims groups work, use information, are organized, and deploy analytics.  It will discuss what kind of metrics claims organizations can use to track their performance. And it will take a look ahead at how claims technology will change in the next few years.

 

Donald Light

Senior Analyst

Celent

 

Track B

Steering a Tire Investigation:  A Perspective for Claims Staff

Black tread residue on the roadway marks a trail to a crushed car with three scarred but intact tires and one torn to shreds.  Tire failure looks like a safe guess, but here’s the real question:  when did that tire fail—just then, or weeks earlier after a pothole dive?  Uncovering such answers takes the combined efforts of claims staff and tire experts.  Learn how to initiate and facilitate a tire investigation from automotive engineers with tire expertise, follow along as a tire expert analyzes the clues that reveal the often surprising sequence of events leading to tire failure and get up-to-date on tire technology and regulations.  (The case studies derive from actual automotive accidents.)

 

Peter R. Thom

Principal

Peter R. Thom & Associates

 

William J. Woehrle

Associate

Peter R. Thom & Associates

 

3:00 PM

Networking Refreshments / Showcase Exhibits

 

3:30 PM

Track A          

Best Practices From An Agent/Broker Perspective…
First Point Of Contact

-Important aspects of making contact with the Agent/Broker

-What is the Agent/Broker looking for in terms of client needs in the claims world

-Adjusters/Carriers – reflection of the business that Agent/Broker sells

-Insured usually not an expert

-First point of contact…where does it end?

 

Rose Kuba

Area Vice President-Claims/Professional Standards Manager

Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc.

 

 

Track B

Leveraging Your Most Important Asset in Claims Environment – Human Capital

-Examine methods to attract and retain quality employees

-Identifying the role of training in the human capital area

-Creating a vested interest mentality in all; from the front-line adjuster to the Chief Claims Officer

-Maximizing use of your people to realize an improved ROI

 

Lourdes Francisco

Vice President, Claims Department Manager

Munich Re America

 

Joan T. Schmit, American Family Insurance

Chair in Risk Management and Insurance

Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin

 

4:30 PM

Track A          

2008 Claims Opportunities:
Better Claims Management through Predictive Analytics

Over the past several years, technology has had a major impact on management of claim departments.  One of the most powerful and least used is the use of predictive analytics.  In this session we will look into how analytics have a meaningful impact on claims department management in the areas of early recognition of reserve development and adjuster evaluation.  The session will conclude with a practical demonstration of how you can develop and apply your own predictive analytics specific to your individual needs using tools that are already on your computer.

 

Steven R. Henning, MBA, CPCU ARe

Vice President, CLM Operations

Swiss Re America Corporation

 

C. Michael Mattix

Vice President, Claims & Liability Management

Swiss Re Underwriters Agency Inc.

 

           

Track B

Improving Customer Satisfaction in the Claims Process

While giving the customer everything they desire in a claim is often not feasible, there are tactics people in the claims process can employ to affect a satisfying experience. During this session, you will learn what customers have identified as best practices in the claims process based on J.D. Power's seven years of surveying thousands of insurance customers. Content covered will address every individual who interacts with the customer during the claims process and will highlight best-practice behaviors around: .response times, types and frequency of communication, level of detail customers desire, documentation required.

 

Jeremy Bowler

Senior Director, Insurance Practice

J.D. Power and Associates

 

5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

Cocktail Reception

Join your colleagues for a networking reception and an opportunity to interact with our leading sponsors in our exhibit hall.

 

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

 

8:00 AM

Continental Breakfast

Sponsored by Esquire Deposition Services

 

8:30 AM

Day Two Recap by Conference Chairman

Eric Gilkey

Editor

Claims Magazine

 

8:45 AM         

Featured Panel - Claims Executive Roundtable

Innovation through Creative Claims Processing

For the first time at ACE America’s Claims Event a group of Senior Claims Executives will gather for a off the record discussion of some of the most pressing issues facing our industry.  The outcomes of this discussion will server as the backdrop for this highly anticipated discussion.  Join us as renowned claims executives from the industry discuss current challenges, explore innovative techniques and share best practices.

 

Moderator: 

Jim Mullarney, CPCU ARM

Product Strategy Director

Oracle Financial Services Global Business Unit

 

Rod Rupp

Senior VP Claims

Auto-Owners Insurance Group

 

Terry Fortner

Associate VP Claims

Nationwide

 

THE LATEST TRENDS IN FRAUD

9:30 AM

Strategies for Detecting and Fighting Online Insurance Fraud

As more and more carriers allow consumers to price, build, and buy insurance policies online, the opportunities for fraud increase. How can organizations proactively detect and fight against this fast growing concern. Attendees will hear from Steve Rutzebeck and Jim Hammond from GEICO discuss strategies behind this emerging issue and how they are fighting it within their institution. 

 

Jim Hammonds, FCLS

GEICO SIU - SE, Atlanta Field Office

 

Steven Rutzebeck

Director of SIU/Claims Security

GEICO

 

10:15 AM

Legal Strategies for Fighting Insurance Fraud

This seminar will address how insurance carriers and their counsel, working together, can identify and effectively combat fraudulent claims. Topics of discussion will include a comprehensive review of the latest legal developments in the fight against insurance fraud and an in-depth discussion of strategic claims handling, effective methods for taking recorded statements, making document requests and conducting examinations under oath.

 

Glenn Malin

Shareholder

Peterson Bernard

 

Heather Rogers Barrow

Shareholder

Peterson Bernard

 

11:00 AM

Streamlining Claims Litigation Management for Reduced Cost and Improved Outcomes

-Discover opportunities to minimize the impact to the bottom line

-Effectively implement litigation management tools

-Decipher whether mediation and/or arbitration strategies will assist in demonstrating cost savings

 

Moderator:

Lauren Wilkins

President

Smith & Brink P.C.

 

Sue Ellen Salsbury

Corporate Claims Attorney

Progressive Insurance

 

Jacqueline K. Gallagher, Esquire
Partner

Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP

 

Kevin Quinley, CPCU, AIC

Vice President, Advisory Board

Council on Litigation Management

 

 

11:45 AM

Conference Concludes

 

 

Please note that speakers and topics were confirmed at the time of publishing, however, circumstances beyond the control of the organizers may necessitate substitutions, alterations or cancellations of the speakers and/or topics.  As such, National Underwriter reserves the right to alter or modify speakers and/or topics.

 

                                   


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