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Browse the NICC 2014 agenda

Sunday, September 21

2014 Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management NICC Golf Tournament at The Marshes Golf Club
(Tournament begins at 11:00am) Golf registration required.

Conference Registration Opens 9:00am

Cocktail Reception 6:00-7:30pm, Sponsored by Lloyd’s
Welcome Address: Vincent Vandendael, Director, International Markets, Lloyd

Technology, Sponsored by CGI

Monday, September 22

Breakfast Sponsored by Aon Benfield

7:30am - 9:00am

Welcome, Acknowledgements, and Intro Address

9:00-9:20am

Speakers:
Joel Baker

CEO,
MSA Research

Amanda Lang

Acclaimed Business Journalist Bestselling Author, The Beauty of Discomfort

Distribution Models of the Future

9:25am - 10:40am

Moderator:
George Cooke

Chair of the Board of Directors of OMERS Administration Corporation

Panelists:
Randy Carroll

CEO, Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario

Stéphane Morency

Senior Vice-President Development & Client Solutions, Desjardins General Insurance Group (DGIG)

Doug Stephens

World's Foremost Retail Futurist

Vincent Vandendael

Chief Commercial Officer, Lloyd's

The world of distribution is in flux, if not under assault. Look no further than the publishing industry, the travel agency industry and other retail channels that have seen their worlds overturned by technology and innovation. Is the insurance industry immune from these forces? Obviously not. But what’s not obvious is what the future of insurance distribution will look like in 5, 10 and 15 years from now. Will the lines between the channels blur? How will technology, product change and evolving marketing techniques reshape the industry? That, among other things, is what this highly qualified panel is charged with answering. This session will be a real eye-opener.

Networking Break

10:40am - 11:00am

Global Economic Outlook

11:00am - 11:45am

Speaker:
David Rosenberg

Chief Economist & Strategist, Gluskin Sheff & Associates Inc.

David Rosenberg last addressed the NICC in 2010 during the nasty deleveraging cycle in the U.S. and the effects of the financial crisis on Canada and the world. Four years on, the U.S. appears in much stronger shape as does Canada. Will the U.S. engine carry the day? Will interest rates rise tamely will inflation rear its head? Are we re-entering bubble territory? What can insurers/reinsurers expect going into 2015? All shall be revealed.

End of Morning Sessions

Lunch and Presentation Sponsored by the IBC

The Unending Challenges to our Leadership
Luncheon Speaker:
Don Forgeron

President & CEO, Insurance Bureau of Canada

In a Canada besieged by natural disasters and amidst the threat of even more, Canada’s insurance industry must pick and choose the problems it can realistically solve. What works? What gets top billing? And why? Don Forgeron, president and CEO of Insurance Bureau of Canada, explores these questions and more in his annual luncheon appearance at NICC.

Early Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

1:45pm - 2:45pm

Concurrent A:
Evolving Reinsurance Models and How They Serve Primary Buyers
Moderator:
Peter Hearn

President & CEO, Guy Carpenter & Company Ltd.

Panelists:
Peter Roder

Member of the Board of Management, Munich Re

Eric Smith

President & CEO, Swiss Re America

The global reinsurance industry is undergoing a period of intense change as a range of different factors converge to challenge the traditional reinsurer model. What does this mean for the primary buyers and how will the new emerging reinsurance models help to provide real added value to primary buyers and their original policyholders? How will reinsurers manage this period of transformation to ensure that they provide sustainable support to their clients? Join two Global Heavyweights for a lively discussion. Audience Q&A will be encouraged.

Concurrent B:
What's Up With Small Commercial?
Moderator:
Paul MacDonald

Executive Vice President, Personal Insurance, Economical Insurance

Panelists:
Yousry Bissada

President & CEO, Kanetix Ltd.

Clinton D’Souza

SVP Commercial Lines Specialty, Marsh

Anna McCrindell

VP, Commercial Insurance Solutions, Gore Mutual

Catherine Swift

Chair, Board of Governors, Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)

Proportionally, Canada has twice as many small commercial enterprises as the U.S. and yet the Canadian insurance industry does not have a clear and coordinated view of this business. How do we define small commercial? How profitable is it? What is the distribution model of the future for small commercial? Can you afford to ignore it? Using an audience interactive format, a diverse panel of industry experts will provide their insights into these and other questions surrounding this critically important element of the Canadian Commercial Insurance market.

Networking Break Sponsored by Interactive Intelligence

2:45pm - 3:15pm

Late Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

3:15pm - 4:30pm

Concurrent C:
Claim Settlement In Cat Scenarios - Lessons Learned
Moderator:
Panelists:
Jeremy Bowler

Senior Vice President, Financial Services Market Strategies International

Gord Enders

President, Direct-Line Insurance

Louis Heroux

Deputy Senior Vice President, Claims, Intact Financial Corporation

Ellen Roseman

Business Columnist, Toronto Star

Join a dynamic panel of consumer and industry experts in what promises to be a lively and engaging discussion focused on the policyholder experience in catastrophe claim situations. Policyholder expectations contrasted with policyholder experience can have deep and lasting impacts on your brand in either a positive or negative way. Our panel of experts will tackle current and relevant topics facing our industry related to catastrophic events through the ever changing and evolving lens of the policyholders we insure, as well as a look into the future in anticipation of how those consumer expectations may change in years to come.

Concurrent D:
Where Is Canada at With ILS?
Moderator:
Robert W. McDowell

Partner, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Panelists:
Michael Brisebois

CFO, TD Insurance

James Lee

Director, Debt & Solutions Coverage, FI, DB Securities Inc.

Brent Poliquin

Senior Manager, Insurance-Linked Securities, AIR Worldwide

Michael Stahel

Partner, LGT Insurance-Linked Strategies, LGT Capital Management

2013 was the year that Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) really took the stage in the global reinsurance arena. ILS such as cat bonds encroached on the traditional reinsurance market in a meaningful way especially in the US market. In 2013 we also saw several multinationals issue ILS that cover their Canadian, primarily EQ, risk, as part of a larger program. At time of writing, however,we haven’t yet seen a pure-play Canadian ILS. Is this about to change? Will the combination of convergence in pricing, very large primary companies and elevated cat risk tip the balance and usher ILS in to the Canadian market? Join this esteemed panel of experts to find out where we are at.

End of Late Afternoon Concurrent Sessions

Cocktail Reception 6:30-8:00pm, Sponsored by Standard and Poor’s
Gala Dinner and Entertainment 8:00pm
Dinner co-sponsored by Guy Carpenter and Munich Re Canada
Wine sponsored by PwC
Entertainment sponsored by AIR Worldwide

Tuesday, September 23

Breakfast Sponsored by JLT Re

7:30am - 8:30am

Federal & Provincial Regulatory Outlook

8:30am - 9:15am

Speakers:
Koker Christensen

Partner,
Fasken

Gordon Goodman

Partner, Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

Jill McCutcheon

Partner,
Torys

The second day of the 2014 NICC will kick off with a discussion of key regulatory issues affecting insurers, reinsurers, brokers and consumers. The session will cover federal and provincial issues and will touch on governance, risk management, capital and market conduct. The format of this session will be interactive. Audience participation will be encouraged.

Early Morning Concurrent Sessions

9:30-10:30am

Concurrent A:
Taking the Pulse - Where Are We At With Auto Insurance?
Moderator:
Bob Tisdale

JR Tisdale Consulting Services

Panelists:
Barb Addie

Principal, Baron Insurance Services

Barb Sulzenko-Laurie

Vice President, Policy Development, IBC

There is one cardinal rule that has served industry veterans well: never be optimistic about the outlook for auto insurance.  By September 2014, it is expected that more than half of the mandated 15% auto rate rollback in Ontario will be behind us.  Is there a “least-worst” outcome for the industry from this adventure in policy folly?  With TPL-Claims costs again on the march across the country, is there a solution in sight this time?  With the reformed Premiums Regulation in Alberta and product enhancements largely completed in the Atlantic provinces, has stability finally arrived in those markets?  What is it about the politics of auto insurance that keeps us always, ‘hoping for the best, expecting the worst’?

End of Early Morning Concurrent Sessions

Networking Break Sponsored by Carfax

10:30am - 11:00am

Late Morning Concurrent Sessions

11:00am - 12:15pm

Concurrent C:
All Over the Map - Understanding the Ins & Outs of Flood Mapping
Moderator:
Paul Kovacs

Executive Director, Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction

Panelists:
Scott Edelman

Senior Vice President, Water Resources Director, Global and North America, AECOM

Caspar Honegger

Expert Flood, VP, Group Underwriting, Swiss Re

The importance of reliable, comprehensive and up to date flood maps cannot be overstated. The lack of properly delineated flood zones leaves underwriters, reinsurers, municipalities and policy makers in the dark about the degree of risk in many areas of the country. In the wake of the recent catastrophes there is renewed interest in getting a handle on what it would take to develop a flood mapping framework that can be trusted for underwriting purposes which can open the door to providing much needed flood insurance solutions to Canadian consumers and also support sensible mitigation initiatives.

Concurrent D:
Dispute Resolution in the Insurance & Reinsurance Industry
Moderator:
Mary Jane Stitt

Independent Counsel, Mediator & Arbitrator, Mary Jane Stitt Professional Corp.

Panelists:
Robert Lewin

Partner, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

Mary Rose Hughes

Partner, Perkins Coie LLP

Bernard McNulty

VP Underwriting, Global Specialty Lines, RSA Canada

Jordan Solway

General Counsel, Travelers Canada

Resolving disputes in an efficient, predictable and expeditious manner is an important need of the insurance and reinsurance industry. Whether it is in the context of a class action, a reinsurance dispute or a coverage issue involving a commercial policy, the industry is a large and important consumer of alternative dispute resolution services such as arbitration and mediation. However, knowing which mechanism to use and who to pick to resolve your dispute is as important as the choice of the counsel to represent you. This panel features veteran insurance industry executives and legal counsel with extensive experience in the mediation and arbitration of commercial insurance and reinsurance disputes. The panel will explore the current state of dispute resolution in the insurance and reinsurance industry and provide valuable insight based on their experience and from multiple perspectives on strategies to resolve your dispute in a more effective way and preserve business relationships.

End of Late Morning Concurrent Sessions

cip-society logo

Closing Lunch Sponsored by CIP Society

12:15pm - 1:45pm

Merger of the Century.
Why Canada and America Should Become One Country.
Keynote Luncheon Speaker:
Diane Francis

Award-winning columnist and bestselling author

No two nations in the world are as integrated, economically and socially, as are the United States and Canada. We share geography, values and the largest unprotected border in the world. Regardless of this close friendship, our two countries are on a slow-motion collision course—with each other and with the rest of the world. While we wrestle with internal political gridlock and fiscal challenges and clash over border problems, the economies of the larger world change and flourish.

Rather than continuing on this road to mutual decline, our two nations should chart a new course. Bestselling author Diane Francis proposes a simple and obvious solution: What if the United States and Canada merged into one country? Diane Francis’ address will be a controversial and thought provoking close to the 2014 NICC and one you will not want to miss.

Social Guests Welcome

Conference Wrap Up

1:45pm

Speaker:
Joel Baker

CEO,
MSA Research

NICC 2014 is accredited by RIBO

6.5 hours Management and 2 hours Technical