So we might be a little biased about the success of our conference, which took place last month, but choosing to have this year's 10th annual ACE America's Claim Event in New Orleans was a decision not lightly made. Discussions around the Claims and The National Underwriter Company offices focused mainly on matters of the city. In what condition was it? Could the city handle a major conference? Would it be safe?

While it is clear that New Orleans is not 100 percent recovered in many areas — and won't be before the hurricanes begin swirling again in the Gulf — the condition of the downtown area, French Quarter, and Bourbon Street quashed all questions and provided an appropriate backdrop to a conference meant for adjusters and related professionals. These are the people who know firsthand the effects of a catastrophe and the intrinsic difficulties involved in the recovery because they are often first responders to devastated areas.

Notable keynote presentations came from Louisiana's Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and International Insurance Institute's president and CEO Carl Van. Landrieu spoke on the importance of communication before, during, and after an event such as a hurricane. He said that very few communities are prepared to handle such overwhelming circumstances, describing the immediate rescue effort to two hearing impaired, blind-folded persons trying to find each other in an area seven times the size of Manhattan.