CAS To Hold Seminar on Globalization and Technology at 2001 GIRO Meeting

by Alan Hines, Chairperson, CAS Committee on Special Interest Seminars

With the goal of exposing our members to more international issues, the CAS is pleased to present our October Special Interest Seminar in Glasgow, Scotland on October 3-6, 2001 at the Faculty and Institute of Actuaries' annual general insurance (GIRO) meeting. This is the U.K.'s most important forum to discuss the latest developments in casualty actuarial research.

By cosponsoring this meeting, the CAS is offering an economical and efficient opportunity to learn about the challenges facing global insurance companies. The CAS sees this special interest seminar as a significant step toward providing international educational opportunities. Your participation will be our measure of success!

The theme of the special interest seminar is "Globalization and Technology: Issues and Solutions." The CAS has organized many sessions that will be presented during the seminar, in addition to the GIRO offerings that are listed in the online registration brochure. The listing of CAS sessions will be posted on the CAS Web Site when available. Check the "What's New" section for the latest information.

Workshops on a number of topics are planned, including Capital Allocation, Measuring Customer Value, Fair Value Accounting, DFA, Catastrophe Modeling, Weather Derivatives, Data Mining/Data Warehousing, Extreme Value Theory, Simulation Tools and Applications, Reinsurance Commutations, Underwriting Modeling, and Risk Premium. The speakers will include such luminaries as Nick Prettejohn, the chief executive officer of Lloyd's of London and Rob Jones, a director of Standard & Poor's.

Famous for its outstanding museums and art galleries, Glasgow has a rich medieval history, highlighted by its 12^th century cathedral and the City Chambers in George Square.

The meeting, held at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre and Glasgow Moat House Hotel, is packed with a fun social program and three nights of planned dinner events. We'll enjoy a gala dinner at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum with entertainment by a Ceilidh (Celtic) band and Highlands dancers. The GIRO committee has also arranged a special program for accompanying persons that includes tours of Glasgow and the Edinburgh castle, a showing of the Burrell Collection of art and a sail on Loch Lomond. On the Saturday following the meeting, there will be a golf tournament and a tour of the ancient town of Stirling, home of Braveheart's monument.

Registration Information

A brochure on the joint CAS/GIRO convention is available on the Internet as a PDF (http://www.actuaries.org.uk/cpd/giro_cas_2001.pdf) and as a link available on the CAS Web Site under "Continuing Education." The PDF contains a registration form that can be downloaded and submitted to the Institute of Actuaries. Please fax your registration forms to 011 44 20 7632 2141 or contact lindap@actuaries.org for more information.

Although the GIRO deadline is August 3, CAS members may register without penalty until September 12. Unlike a CAS Meeting, registering for GIRO includes your hotel reservation, which is automatically made for you by the Institute of Actuaries. However, the Institute of Actuaries must give their reservation guarantees to the hotels in August. Therefore, if you wait until September 12 to register for GIRO, there may not be hotel rooms left. Please note that the Institute will offer no refunds for cancellations after August 31. Also, all payments must be received in advance.

For more information, contact Alan Hines or Abbe Bensimon, vice president-continuing education. We hope to see you in Scotland!