Insurance Group Opens Annual Meeting, Seminars to Non-Members

In an action aimed to underscore its support for increasing levels of professionalism throughout the property and casualty insurance industry, the CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters) Society is opening its registration for its next Annual Meeting and Seminars to non-members.

Throughout its previous 64-year history, only Society members and their guests had been permitted to register for the event. The new policy, announced by 2008-2009 Society President Marvin Kelly, becomes effective with the Society’s Annual Meeting and Seminars scheduled for Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 2009, in Denver.

“The Society must venture outside its comfort level and embrace the future by expanding its base of potential participants,” Kelly said. He also noted that with thousands of Baby Boomers eligible to retire each year, it is critical that the skill levels of the industry’s workforce be replenished. By holding the doors open for its meeting, the association hopes the exposure of non-CPCU attendees to the CPCU community will fulfill that need by introducing them to the designation.

Kelly added that the group’s action will also assist in the need to increase minority participation. He noted that only 1.9 percent of the Society’s nearly 28,000 members are African American; only 1.7 percent are Hispanic; and only 1.4 percent Asian. “Our new policy supports the Society’s 2008-2009 Annual Meeting theme of ‘Embracing Changes’ by creating a new avenue of outreach to the minority community,” he said.

The Society is making plans for an aggressive multifaceted campaign over the next several months to increase awareness of this new inclusive approach to its Annual Meeting and Seminars.

Kelly said that the new policy will give previously-excluded attendees an opportunity to observe first-hand the quality of the seminars and services the Society provides, and offer them a first-hand look at the professional expertise of its members.

Source: CPCU