Speaking Opportunities at PLRB/LIRB

We are always looking for potentially great speakers or sessions for our various Conferences and meetings. There are at least three ways to become a speaker at a Property Loss Research Bureau or Liability Insurance Research Bureau educational program. Here’s a rundown of how it works:

Claims Conference

CALL FOR PRESENTERS

The annual Claims Conference is held in the spring in different cities around the country and draws crowds of 2,000 to 3,500 attendees and exhibitors from across the industry. It is the largest industry event of its kind. A Call for Presenters/Presentations icon is posted on our web site www.plrb.org beginning in March soliciting topics and speakers for the following year’s event.

Typically approximately 110 - 120 classes are selected, and most are offered twice at these three-day conferences. Sessions are grouped under various curriculum areas, including areas such as Adjusting Property, Casualty, Subrogation, Large Property Losses, Claim Management, etc. Classes are either 90-minute concept sessions or 180-minute workshops. Concept sessions are most common. You can submit each proposed topic on our web site and include the following:

• Title and Curriculum Category: Titles should be short, descriptive, and clearly identify the specific focus of the class.
• Three or Four Learning Objectives: Learning objectives describe what attendees will “take away” and be able to demonstrate to others after attending your class. (They are not the same thing as major subject areas of your presentation). Learning Objectives identify specifically what the attendee will be able to demonstrate after attending your class. They often start with active verbs like: "demonstrate," "identify," "describe," "calculate," "distinguish," "review," etc., rather than “weaker” verbs like "gain an understanding of," "appreciate," or "become familiar with."
• One or Two Page Outline: This is what you intend to cover in your session, and (just as important) how you will do it. Attendees are typically looking for an educational experience when attending our classes, rather than simply an "information dump." We are thus continually looking for new claim topics or new angles addressing old topics, offered in a creative, interactive and compelling way.

In early May the "Call for Classes and Presenters" is closed. In late May the next year’s Claims Conference Planning Committee meets, reviews the submissions, topics, and presenters and starts the process of selecting appropriate sessions for the following year. Work on final selections continues by our staff through the summer, and final selections for topics and presenters are confirmed in late September. Those who submitted classes/topics that were unfortunately not chosen are also notified in writing later in the fall.

Regional Adjusters Conferences

PLRB/LIRB currently offers three Regional Adjusters Conferences each year; one in the Eastern, Central, and Western United States. These Conferences are typically held in June, September, and November. Attendance has averaged 400-600 for these events.

Approximately twenty-eight classes are held, covering Property, Casualty, and General Interest (classes appropriate for both property and casualty claim professionals). The same topic is offered at all three locations. Class discussions and case studies within these 28 topics should be modified by instructors to fit the particular regional location. The Regional Adjusters Conferences are typically geared for front-line adjusters, supervisors, and managers. Our aim is to address and provide solutions to the challenges in each topical area that our claim professionals face on a regular basis.

Our 28 classes, with titles and learning objectives, are chosen by PLRB/LIRB staff, after extensive consultation with our member companies. We seek to address those issues that are identified by our members as “problematic and challenging.”

Again, a Call for Presenters for these twenty-eight sessions will be posted on the PLRB/LIRB web site along with titles, descriptions, and learning objectives of the classes from December to mid-February. Proposals to teach a specific session can be made on our web site. Prospective speakers will be asked to provide a 1-2 page description of how they intend to deliver that particular session. In early March presenters will be confirmed for the following June, September, and November Conferences. We will also notify those not chosen during the spring of that year.

With the Regional Adjuster Conferences, our first choice is to have the same presenters commit to and facilitate at all three locations in a particular year. If that is not possible, we will work with a company or group of individuals to deliver a consistent, high-quality educational experience at all three locations. Our primary objective is to work with presenters to present the very highest quality educational experience possible for our attendees.

PLRB Large Loss Conference

The Large Loss Conference, typically held in the late fall of the year, is a 1.5 day Conference addressing the salient technical claim issues involved in property and casualty losses over $100,000. There is a commercial lines property, a personal lines property, and a casualty claims track of classes. These two-hour classes are adjuster-led, highly interactive, and address the complex issues associated with these types of claims. Classes are chosen by topic or type of claim by a planning committee. We then identify an experienced adjuster, with extensive experience in the issues associated with that particular type of claim and also one who has demonstrated presentation skills. The adjuster then selects “expert” co-presenters, such as attorneys, accountants, engineers, consultants, etc. to join him/her in the presentation. They will build a presentation around a particular type of claim, with the adjuster speaking for a third of the time, the experts addressing their respective issues for a third, and the audience participating for a third of the two-hour presentation.

With Large Loss the focus is thus on identifying a particular adjuster who will spearhead the presentation, and that individual will select appropriate experts to help explore the relevant issues of the case. The selection of types of claims and adjusters takes place in the spring of each year in anticipation of the late-fall event.

SUMMARY

There are thus at least three ways we identify presenters for PLRB/LIRB events. We follow a yearly calendar that allows presenters adequate preparation time to present an outstanding class for our members and attendees. In many classes we often see insurance company members join with affiliates or various service provider representatives to deliver outstanding educational sessions that help improve our industry’s performance. We focus on providing solutions to the real issues and challenges of our various audiences; we meticulously avoid any type of “infomercial” that attendees might interpret as a sales presentation or self-promotion of any individual or service provider. Our mission is educating the Claims Community.

If you are qualified and interested in changing our industry for the better, we hope you seriously consider offering to present a topic at an upcoming PLRB/LIRB event. We are always “in the hunt” for new individuals with exceptional ideas and talents and new classes to share with our members. If you have questions or need additional information regarding speaking opportunities, please call us to discuss. We look forward to hearing from you and building an educational program that reflects our very best efforts.

Educational & Technical Services

Property Loss Research Bureau/Liability Insurance Research Bureau

3025 Highland Parkway, Suite 800

Downers Grove, IL 60515-1291

630-724-2200

E-mail: conference@plrb.org