San Antonio Spring Promises Rich Backdrop for CAS Meeting

by Rhonda K. Aikens

The 1997 CAS Spring Meeting will be held May 18-21 at the San Antonio Marriott River Center. Meeting attendees should anticipate an array of diverse topics to be offered while enjoying a city that is equally diverse in its heritage and attractions.

Lee Sherman Dreyfus, Ph.D., president of Lee Sherman Dreyfus, Inc., will be the featured speaker. Prior to the formation of Lee Sherman Dreyfus, Inc. in 1984, Dr. Dreyfus was president of Sentry Insurance Corporation, Governor of the State of Wisconsin from 1979 to 1983, Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point from 1967 to 1979, and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1962 to 1967.

Dr. Dreyfus is a weekly columnist for The Waukesha Freeman, a Milwaukee area daily, and has authored a number of publications: "Education of Eagles & Dragons-Education in the People’s Republic of China," "The Development and Promise of Technology in Education," "The University Station," and Televised Instruction, published by RCA (Dreyfus & Bradley).

The meeting will also feature some format changes. Rather than offering two concurrent general sessions on Tuesday morning, the audience will be honored with one panel session featuring some of the. insurance industry’s CEO’s. The discussion will evolve around the challenges that CEO’s face, and how they believe the insurance industry should position itself for the future.

General sessions will also be held on Monday and Wednesday. One session will feature a discussion of the expanding role of distribution systems within the property/casualty insurance markets, examining the current state and providing an outlook for the future. The other session will examine the workers compensation marketplace and the phenomena of its shifting underwriting results, the impact of regulatory reform, changes in the economy, streamlining of health care coverages, and the use of alternative markets.

In addition to the general sessions, a number of concurrent sessions are planned. Topics include:

• Texas insurance issues,
• neural networks,
• catastrophe reserves,
• marketing and ratemaking interplay,
• DFA case studies,
• specialty liability coverages, and
• the evolution of the advisory organizations.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear presentations on papers that will be published in the 1997 Discussion Paper Program and the Proceedings.

During the Tuesday evening reception, attendees will be able to view exhibits of the state’s ethnic diversity and pioneer heritage at the Institute of Texan Cultures.

The San Antonio Maniott River Center is located on Bowie and Com-merce Streets and oversees the famous San Antonio River. Many of the city’s other historical and newer attractions are also located along or near the river. These include the Alamo, the Arneson River Theatre, the Tower of the Americas, and the Mexican village of La Villita, as well as Planet Hollywood and the Hard Rock Cafe.

The preliminary program for the 1997 CAS Spring Meeting, including registration information, will be mailed to members next month.