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April 9, 2002 "The Long-Term View" 9:00 a.m. It wouldn't really matter what M.
R. "Hank" Greenberg, chairman and CEO of American International Group,
talks about, because. . .well, let's face it-anything he has to say about the insurance business is worth listening to. For
the record, though, Hank will: 1) tell us what he's been thinking
about, 2) share his outlook on the industry, and 3) have a 10:30 a.m. Devotees of eloquent prose about complex accounting matters cherish three fine books: Unaccountable Accounting, More Debits than Credits, and The Truth About Corporate Accounting, by Abraham J. Briloff, certified public accountant and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Baruch College. Abe has been a leader in exposing dubious, inconsistent, and incongruous accounting practices. He also has a longstanding interest in the insurance business, where such practices have a habit of turning up. He will tell you what's been troubling him lately. 11:20 a.m. Most insurance companies don't do things the way Cincinnati Financial does. And only a handful have posted long-term results as great as Cincinnati Financial has. Robert Morgan, who retired as CEO of Cincinnati in 1999, spent more than three decades building a company that was started (and still revered by) independent agents. Cincinnati has delivered value to its insureds and has made a fortune for its shareholders. Bob will give us something that's hard to find these days: an independent point of view. LunchDecent food and fine conversation. 1:00 p.m. Stephen Way began working at Lloyd's when he was 15. He eventually came to America, where he founded HCC Insurance Holdings at the advanced age of 25. HCC is now a large specialty insurer and underwriting manager. In a no-holds-barred discussion, Stephen will tell us how this came about, and share his thoughts on capital preservation, diversification, underwriting discipline, and much more. 1:45 p.m. Glenn Daily is a rare breed: a fee-only insurance consultant who specializes in life insurance and annuities. He is an innovative thinker, prolific author, and consumer advocate. Glenn's talk, currently titled "Clueless Consumers: A real options analysis," will delve into a variety of subjects that will be of interest to anyone in the life insurance business, anyone who owns life insurance or annuities, or anyone who might want to own life insurance or annuities.2:45 p.m. "We applaud owners who reward executives on premium growth," says Jack Byrne, chairman of White Mountains Insurance Group. "This often provides fine opportunities for us later." During his career, Jack has resuscitated GEICO, fixed Fireman's Fund, and built up White Mountains. Jack is not interested in: market share, producing a predictable stream of quarterly operating earnings, or managing his business according to generally accepted accounting principles. His strategy is simple-to increase intrinsic business value per share. Jack will tell us what interests him these days.3:45 p.m. As usual, David Schiff, editor of Schiff's Insurance Observer, will interrogate the speakers and, when necessary, force them to answer brazen questions. David will have his say on the great insurance issues of the day and will discuss where he sees value (or the lack thereof).4:30 p.m. Socialize with insurance mavens and observers. Discuss the day's events or make deals over cocktails while taking in the view from the top of the New York Athletic Club 6:00 p.m. Additional reception and dinner for those who want more of a good thing. The venue is The Coffee House, a convivial private club devoted to "agreeable, civilized conversation." Attendance is limited to 32 people. |