Looking Forward to the AICP Annual Conference in Dallas

Over the weekend I was busy working on my presentations for the AICP Annual Conference in Dallas (Oct. 3-6) and I as that part of the preparation gets completed, I begin to look forward with more enthusiasm to the actual sessions—when we get to talk together about our experiences since last year’s conference.

My first session is Innovations in Life Product Development. This has proven to be the toughest preparation for me this year. My co-presenters, Tom Carswell, from the GA DOI and Ralph Spaulding, formerly of the NY Insurance Department, have also found it a bit of a challenge. While there has been so much going on in the industry, it feels as though life insurance product development has taken a bit of a back seat. Not that there isn’t product development, but there just doesn’t seem to be nearly as much as we have become accustomed to in recent years. However, the life industry does seem to be looking at specific markets differently and I think that will make for an interesting discussion. There may be fewer new products coming to market, but they are being used in new and different ways.

My second session is Advertising 101 and there is plenty to talk about here! I am looking forward to working with my co-presenter Beth O’Quin, from the Louisiana DOI, to create an interactive session where we actually talk about advertising compliance both from the industry perspective and the regulators. Bring your questions—this should be a great session.

My final session is in the very last block of the conference and to me it seems fitting since it is Federal Oversight of Financial Services, and is that which looms over us all. I have made no secret of the fact that I am quite skeptical of federal regulation and nothing in Dodd-Frank convinces me that I’ve been wrong about that. But come to the session and let’s talk about it! My co-presenter Tom Hampton, from Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal LLP, is based in DC and he has a different perspective than I do. I’m hoping for a lively discussion to close out the conference.

I am looking forward to Dallas and hope to see you there.