GUAA Risk Review

Spring 1999

YB4Y2K (1999)

by Art Dammers,
The Hartford

YB4Y2K (1999), as the information systems folks call it, is upon us. On the eve of GUAA's 25th anniversary, we have two great conferences planned building again on our themes of ACCESS to your fellow underwriters, INFORMATION and education on new product trends, and an exceptional VALUE for your budget and time.

Our annual meeting titled "Leadership in the Industry" will be held in Baltimore's Inner Harbor at the beautiful Renaissance Hotel, located opposite the National Aquarium. Fort McHenry which inspired the Star Spangled Banner is within walking distance of the Hotel, as is Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Rumor has it that the Red Sox will be in town that week. From ESPN Sports Zone to the Civil War Museum and three malls, the Inner Harbor is the most family-oriented location since our successful Boston conference a few years back. Then there's our fall meeting at Disney. For more information on either venue, you can access our web-site at www.guaa.com for the latest updates.

This year will also witness the birth of a new product committee focused on Long Term Care. VP David Mitchell has been in contact with several LTC market leaders along with those that have just developed products for this growing market that already covers 5 million people. If your company is interested in this product and would like to explore committee membership, please give David a call. We are hoping to have several sessions on LTC in Baltimore for those interested in learning more about LTC and its myriad of evolutionary paths.

Our Atlanta meeting was a great success as our keynote speaker, Ira Blumenthal, challenged us to work smart. The committee-based workshops followed through and delivered on that theme. One participant noted, "GUAA's move back to more technical issues has been a great improvement." Kudos to the Committees for their highly-rated workshop sessions. The Hay Group presented the last session based on their 1998 Group Underwriter Compensation Study. Based on high attendance and positive feedback, we would like to make this an annual event.

There are additional changes to the association as well. Mark Walker has joined the Board of Directors as the new Programming co-chair led by Don Russell. Mark recently was the co-chair of the Life Committee now under the leadership of Kathy Laws. Karen Whitesel is the new chair of the Dental Committee and Wayne Fisher now a co-chair of the Medical Committee. Our Web-site will be added to a number of additional search engines, the job posting "situations wanted" has been enhanced, and we are creating an open bulletin board for your "real time" questions or comments.

Please join us in Baltimore along with other leaders in the employee benefit industry.

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