What is the value to claim professionals attending the conference?

The meeting draws claim professionals and executives, along with key technical support and IT personnel who work on implementing claim solutions. In our claim track, we feature technical innovations, business process solutions, and new data or analytic processes that can contribute to achieving certain business goals in each company's claim operation.

We have strong topics this year. Within each of the six total tracks, five topics are selected to offer either specific technologies with actual implementation case examples or specific business solutions and approaches that can contribute to technology acquisition or process design for organizational success. Attendees can choose their own takeaways from those options within any track of interest.

The claim-oriented sessions in particular cover concepts ranging from how to use technology to transform the claim process to satisfying customers, increasing retention, and meeting regulatory requirements. Attendees will also learn how to assess reinsurance systems, control leakage, and reap the full benefit of reinsurance contracts. Another topic addresses how effective document automation can expand and strengthen customer relationships.

Finally, in our technology track, an interesting presentation addresses how to use process simulation models to refine and optimize the claim process. We believe that the right technologies, systems, data, and analytic solutions can help companies be competitive, even in today's volatile business environment.

What topics are you most excited to address this year? What's new?

That's a hard one, because all of our topics are new each year. Every topic is proposed by a carrier, provider, or a consultant involved in implementing a solution or business process. We choose speakers and specific areas to cover in order to offer the broadest range of ideas and possible approaches. We also have very strong general sessions that, of course, will address significant issues impacting us all today.

Scott Stephenson, ISO's executive vice president and COO, will examine the big-picture trends and developments changing the competitive dynamics in today's insurance marketplace. Futurist Dan Burrus will offer insights into present and future opportunities made possible by rapid advances in technology — and how to position your company strategically to thrive in a shifting technological and economic climate. Finally, a few other topics address the issues involved in optimizing investments in IT, or cutting costs and getting the most “bang for the buck.”

Where are carriers' priorities in terms of technology implementation?

This is exactly what we'll cover in one of our general sessions. Ara Trembly, founder of Ara Trembly, The Tech Consultant, along with a panel of expert technologists will look at where IT spending and priorities are heading and what kind of organizational structure and distribution channels make sense today.