WITH the arrival of September, the fall convention season gets into full swing. There will be no shortage of issues to talk about–starting right off with Hurricane Katrina's effect on the insurance industry. According to the earliest damage estimates, Katrina, the killer storm that at the end of last month narrowly missed making a direct hit on New Orleans, may or may not top Hurricane Andrew as the most expensive hurricane for insurers; but without question, it will produce enormous losses for them. And as Labor Day approached, hurricane season was just getting into gear.

How Katrina (and any storms that come after it) may affect insurers, reinsurers and the softening market is only one of many issues that will be taken up at the fall meetings. Others include the debate over the renewal of the federal Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, the proposed State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency Act, and agent and broker compensation and disclosure in the Spitzer era. The meetings also offer great opportunities to network with peers and carriers, and to pick up continuing education credits. Here is a list of some of the upcoming meetings. You'll have to hustle to get to some of them.

Sept. 10-12: The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America's 2005 Big "I" Convention. This will be IIABA's farewell fall convention. Starting next year, the event will be combined with the association's spring National Legislative Conference. Since the convention takes place in New York–and on 9/11 to boot–it is only fitting that the keynote speaker will be Rudy Giuliani, the city's mayor during the crisis. Other highlights include a panel discussion featuring five insurer CEOs and a trade fair with well over 100 exhibitors. The convention will take place at the New York Hilton in Manhattan. For more information, call (800) 221-7917 or visit www.iiaba.org.