PAST CONFERENCES

The Spring 2024 PLANS conference was held in Charleston, SC.

The Fall 2023 PLANS conference was held in Phoenix, AZ.

The Spring 2023 PLANS conference was held in Sarasota, FL.

The Fall 2022 PLANS conference was held in Asheville, NC.

The Spring 2022 PLANS conference was held in Corpus Christi, TX. This was the first in person conference since the start of the pandemic.

The Spring 2020 - Fall 2021 PLANS Conferences were held virtually. These conferences were widely attended by member companies and limited to peer information sharing, open forum and poll questions.

The Fall 2019 PLANS Conference was held in Denver Colorado at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown, September 22nd – 25th. 32 people were in attendance, representing 21 companies. AON did a presentation on ‘Business Process Management & Low Code Tools’. Penn National Insurance did a presentation on their ‘Cloud Journey’ and ALFA Insurance did a presentation on ‘Staying Laser Focused’. Cincinnati Insurance did a presentation on ‘Hybrid Data Architecture in the age of Evolving Data Landscapes and Needs’.

The Spring 2019 PLANS Conference was held in Nashville Tennessee at the Hotel INDIGO. April 14th – 16th. 46 people were in attendance representing 24 companies. NYCM did a presentation on ‘Emerging Trends: Where do we stand?’. Michigan Farm Bureau and Frankenmuth Insurance co-presented on ‘Recruiting & Retaining IT Talent’ and ALFA Insurance did a presentation on ‘Staying Laser Focused’.

The Fall 2018 PLANS Conference was held at the West Badin Springs Hotel in French Lick, Indiana, September 23 - September 26. In attendance were 33 representatives (plus 12 spouses) from 22 member companies and 1 guest companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Mulesoft Review; Call Center Technology and Cloud Adoption; Innovation.

The Spring 2018 PLANS Conference was held at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas, April 22 - April 25. In attendance were 39 representatives (plus 16 spouses) from 22 member companies and 1 guest companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Insurance IT-Planning for the Future; Digital Strategy; Software Development Insourcing; Drones.

The Fall 2017 PLANS Conference was held at the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon, September 24 - September 27. In attendance were 41 representatives (plus 21 spouses) from 25 member companies and 2 guest companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Journey to Guidewire; Regulatory Processes; Performance Monitoring; Guidewire ClaimCenter Implementation.

The Spring 2017 PLANS Conference was held at the Mansion on Forsyth Park in Savannah, GA, April 23 - April 26. In attendance were 36 representatives (plus 14 spouses) from 24 member companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Business Transformation - Pain and Gain; Managed Print Services; Evolving and Maturing Insurance Reporting; Technical Debt: How one company is Paying it Down; and Dev Ops, A Practical Journey.

The Fall 2016 PLANS Conference was held at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV, September 18 - September 21. In attendance were 35 representatives (plus 12 spouses) from 21 member companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: The Challenges of Cloud Applications; Sharepoint at Federated; Next Generation Infrastructure Architecture; Preparing for a New Normal for Competition in Insurance; and Build and Deployment Automation.

The Spring 2016 PLANS Conference was held at Lido Beach Resort in Sarasota, FL April 24 - April 27. In attendance were 41 representatives from 25 member companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Evolution of the PMO; The Big Lie - One Version of the Truth; Security Practices; It's Leadership Journey; and Service Management.

The Fall 2015 PLANS Conference was held at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas, NV September 20 – September 23. In attendance were 43 representatives from 23 member companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Accenture Claims Implementation, Data Governance, Cyber Security Strategy and Governance, Financial Policy System Transformation, Work Culture Via Open Work Environment and Collaboration Cafe's, and Mobile App Development.

The Spring 2015 PLANS Conference was held at the Omni Jacksonville Hotel in Jacksonville, FL April 12 – April 15. In attendance were 42 representatives from 25 member companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Information Technology Workflow, Commercial Lines Strategy, Testing Automation, Transformation Organization and Team Selection, Service Desk to Service Management, and Replacing Laptops with iPads.

The Fall 2014 PLANS Conference was held at the Table Mountain Inn in Golden, CO September 21 - September 24. In attendance were 32 representatives from 26 member companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Death By Waterfall, Small Teams/Benefits & Challenges, Dev Ops, Audits & Inspections/Electronic Signatures, Business Continuity/ID Federation, VDI, and IT Infrastructure Maturity.

The Spring 2014 PLANS Conference was held at the Le Pavillon Hotel in New Orleans LA March 30- April 2. In attendance were 43 representatives from 28 member companies and 1 guest company. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: AUGIE Update Commercial Download, BI Tool Selection, Agile Governance, Future of the Mainframe, Data Warehouse Journey, Mobile Development, eSignatures/Commercial Inspections, customer Self Service and IT Roles - Service Level Engineers & Application Owners.

The Fall 2013 PLANS Conference was held at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park Asheville North Carolina September 22 - 25. In attendance were 41 representatives from 27 member companies and 1 guest company. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Enterprise Data Warehouse/BI Implementation, Thinking and Leadership, Guidewire Claimcenter Implemenation, Help Desk Support Services, Nine Year Leap to 2013, Mercer Insurance Acquisition and a roundtable discussion on IT Procurement/Vendor Management.

The Spring 2013 PLANS Conference was held at the Grand America Hotel Salt Lake City, UT April 7- 10. In attendance were 44 representatives from 27 member companies and 2 guest companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: Disaster Recovery, eSignatures, Talent Development and Retention, Mergers and Acquisitions, Infrastructure and Policy Modernization, Monitoring of the IT Environment. Novarica delivered a presentation on Industry Transformation and Trends.

The Fall 2012 PLANS Conference was held at the Omni Severin Indianapolis, IN September 23 - 26. In attendance were 38 representatives from 20 member companies. The agenda included presentations by member companies on the following topics: CMDB Implementation, Guidewire Implementation, Innovation – Social, Mobile & Next Generation Technology, and Cloud Computing. The Ward Group delivered a presentation as a guest on IT Benchmarks in the Insurance Industry.

The Spring 2012 PLANS Conference was held at the Westin La Paloma in Tucson, Arizona from April 22 through the 25th. 39 Members from 28 member companies and one guest company attended. The agenda included presentations on the following: Claims Implementation, VDI Implementation, Telecom Upgrade, Performance Management of Staff, Sharepoint Implementation and Mobile Device Policy.

The Fall 2011 PLANS Conference was held at La Fonda on the Plaze in Santa Fe, New Mexico from September 18th through the 21th. 39 Members from 23 Companies attended.

The Spring 2011 PLANS Conference was held at the Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina from from April 17th through the 20th. 39 Members from 26 Companies attended.

The Fall 2010 PLANS Conference was held at the Antlers Hilton Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In attendance were 39 members from 26 member companies.

The Spring 2010 PLANS Conference was held at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. In attendance were 36 members from 25 member companies, and 3 guests from 2 guest companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations/sessions: Data Interfacing, Release Management, Organization of an IT Business Office, Business Meeting, and an expanded Open Forum. The group discussed company profile and metric data, and discussion forum format, and has decided to use Linked In for topic discussions in between conferences.

The Fall 2009 PLANS Conference was held at the Sheraton Suites Country Club Hotel in Kansas City, MO.. In attendance were 38 members from 26 member companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations: Company Introductions, Service Disruption and Incident Reporting, IT Org Chart Roundtable, Test Automation, Data Center Recovery / Business Resumption, Electronic Discovery, Open Forum, Business Meeting and Vendor Relations.

The Spring 2009 PLANS Conference was held at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown in Austin, TX. In attendance were 30 members from 20 member companies along with 3 guests from 2 guest companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations: Company Introductions, Enterprise Architecture Strategy, IT Topics Roundtable, IP Telephony, ACORD XML, Agency Interface - Adoption of Real Time, Open Forum, Business Meeting, Project Development Methodology - A Flexible Solution for QBE, SOA - Enterprise Service Bus Implementation

The Fall 2008 PLANS Conference was held at the Wort Hotel in Jackson Wyoming. In attendance were 37 members from 27 member companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations: Company Introductions, Selecting and Implementing a VoIP Phone System, Disaster Recovery Experience, Deploying a Claims Administration Solution (End to End), Use of Sharepoint, Agency Interface Open Forum, All Issues Open Forum, Global Solimar Systems - Print Anywhere Technology, IT Issue Round Table and the business meeting.

The Spring 2008 PLANS Conference was held at the Tremont Plaza Hotel in Baltimore Maryland. In attendance were 42 members from 31 member companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations: Company Introductions, Print with xPression, Service Delivery Improvements through ITIL, An SOA approach to Personal Lines Underwriting, Gone CAMPing - a Claims System Replacement Story, Disaster Recovery Roundtable, Infrastructure, Agency Interface Roundtable and the business meeting.

The Fall 2007 PLANS Conference was held September 23 - 26 at the Hilton Savannah DeSoto in Savannah, Georgia. In attendance were 34 members from 24 member companies and 2 guest companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations: Company Introductions, Agile Development Methodologies, IT Relationship Manager, Upgrading Dual Data Centers, IT Strategy, Agency Interface Roundtable, Open Forum, Billing System Selection Roundtable, Address Validation and the business meeting.

The Spring 2007 PLANS Conference was held April 15 - 18 at the Grosvenor Resort in Orlando, Florida. In attendance were 41 members from 26 member companies and 2 guest companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations: Company Introductions, Benchmarking Information Technology, SDLC, Policy Admin Solution - An Informed Implementation Approach, Automation for Farmowner Product, Selecting a Policy Admin System Roundtable Discussion, Open Forum, Record Retention and the business meeting.

The Fall 2006 PLANS Conference was held September 10 - 13 at the Silver Legacy Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada. In attendance were 43 members from 26 member companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations: Company Introduction, Loss Control Tablet PC Application, Payments on Web / IVR, Electronic Software Distribution, Document and Imaging Workflow, Open Forum, Exceed Implementation: Successes, Challenges and Lesson's Learned, Open Systems Change Management and Change Control.

The Spring 2006 PLANS Conference was held April 23 - 26 at the Omni Jacksonville Hotel in sunny Jacksonville Florida. In attendance were 47 members from 30 member companies. The conference agenda included the following presentations: Company Introductions, reaching for the COSMOS, IT Chargeback, Performance Monitoring and Trending from the User's Perspective, Network Monitoring, Underwriting Information Systems, Roundtable Discussion on Application Testing Standards, IP Telephony, What you parents should have told you about Predictive Modeling and the open forum.

The Fall 2005 PLANS Conference was held September 12 - 15 at the Union Station Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. In attendance were 34 members from 26 member companies and 1 individual from 1 guest company. The conference agenda included the following: Company Introductions, Duck Creek Implementation, Business Requirements, Service Oriented Architecture, Automation Marketing Manager, Commercial Lines Implementation - Instec Quicksolver, FISERV/FAB Billing Implementation, E-Pay with Bill Matrix, Agent Download - from IVANS to Ebix to Connective and the Open Forum.

The Spring 2005 PLANS Conference was held April 24 - 27 at the Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina in Charleston, South Carolina. In attendance were 48 members from 32 companies and 7 individuals from 4 guest companies. The conference agenda included the following: Company Introductions, CRM Strategies, Hand Held Devices, Data Quality, IT Alignment, Process Improvements, SOX - Same Old Examinations, Web Reporting, Transformation Station and the Open Forum.

The Fall 2004 PLANS Conference was held September 12 - 15 at the Antlers Hilton Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 32 members from 26 companies, and 3 vendors attended the meetings. The conference agenda included Company Introductions, Agency Security Administration Process, Project Portfolio Management, IT Security, An Architectural View, Taliant Software P&C Insurance Systems Implementation Approach, Agent Policy Download from IVANS to EBIX, Open Forum, Service Oriented Architecture, Server Consolidation and Using a Shared Cost Model for Research Projects. Vendors that assisted with the presentations included: Taliant Software, CSC and Insurance Technology Group.

The Spring 2004 PLANS Conference was held April 18 21 at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. 41 members from 26 companies, and 2 vendors attended the meetings. The conference agenda included company introductions, LDAP Implementation, Agency Quoting and Upload via the Web, End User Experience Monitoring Techniques, Tools and Lessons, Integrated Document Creation Techniques, Infrastructure Changes to Support Multiple Companies, Open Forum, Project Office - Establishing the Business Impact, Generation Why?, Agent Web Rating, Small Company Website in a Big Company World and the Business Meeting. Vendors that assisted with the presentations included Compuware (End User Experience Monitoring Techniques) and OpenConnect Systems (Agent Web Rating).

The Fall 2003 PLANS Conference was held September 28 October 1 at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston, Texas. 28 members from 22 companies, 3 guests from 2 guest companies, and 3 vendors attended the meetings. The conference agenda included Company Introductions, XML and Fast Access to Agency Management Systems, Websphere on z/OS, Data Transformation Integration Tool, IT Governance, Launching a Claims Business System Initiative, Open Forum, e-Commerce Initiative, Decisioning Enablement - Fraud and Regulatory Compliance, and Application Staff Augmentation thru Offshore Partnerships. Vendors that assisted with the presentations were X by 2 (Data Transformation Integration Tool), Duck Creek (e-Commerce Initiative), and Computer Sciences Corporation (Decisioning Enablement - Fraud and Regulatory Compliance).

The Spring 2003 PLANS Conference was held April 27 30 at the Riverside Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 37 members from 28 companies, 2 guests attended the meeting from 2 guest companies, and 2 vendors. The conference agenda included company introductions, presentations on Conversion to Docucorp, Fiserve Claims System Overview, Web Services, Agency Interface Strategy and Roundtable, Hosting your own Hot Site and Hot Site Roundtable, Approach to Process Development, Web-based Help Desk Applications, and the Open Forum. Vendors that assisted with the presentations included: Computer Sciences Corporation, (Web Services) and Control F-1 (Web-Based Help Desk Applications).

The Fall 2002 PLANS Conference was held September 22-25 at the Old Town Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. The meeting was attended by 36 members from 24 companies, 4 representative from guest companies, and 2 vendors. The conference agenda included presentations on the PLANS web site, a Business Analysts Round-table discussion, Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment, Vendor Management, a company Website demonstration, the Open Forum discussion, Automation of Personal Auto on the Internet, Customer Interaction Technologies, Endorsement Processing on the Web, and a Employee Performance Reviews round-table. Vendors that assisted with the presentations included Kubra Data Corp (Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment) and GEE Communications (Customer Interaction Technologies). The conference remains a valuable tool because of the information shared through presentations and meetings with members.

The Spring 2002 PLANS Conference was held April 7-10 at the Savannah DeSoto Hilton in Savannah Georgia. The meeting was well attended by 34 members representing 25 companies, 10 spouses/guests and 4 vendors. The member presentations included Managed E-Mail Services: Protection against Viruses, AcroSoft Imaging , Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Architected Approach to Enterprise Systems , Extending the Life of Legacy Systems, Real-time Agency Management System Transaction Processing, Data Warehouse Odyssey, and Web Enabling Agents' Commissions Statements / Mobius. Vendors that assisted with member presentations included Aurora Solutions (Gateway Defender), PricewaterhouseCoopers, Applied Systems (Transformation Station), and AcroSoft. The Open Forum continues to provide great information on many issues.

The Fall 2001 PLANS Conference was held September 9-12, at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto Canada. The meeting was attended by 34 representatives of 23 member companies, 2 guest company representatives, and 3 vendors. Presentation included: Impact of User Interface and Design on Productivity, WebSphere in a 390 Mainframe World, Building Enterprise Insurance Apps Using J2EE Architecture, IT Business Plan Development, Knowledge / Application Mining, Mainframe Print to ImageRight, Agency Information Exchange, Help Desk Processes / Issues "A Smile can be Heard - Help Center 'Trials'", and an Open Forum discussion on IT issues. Representatives from Sapiens Americas and WorldGroup Consulting assisted in the presentations on User Interface Design and Using J2EE respectively.

The Spring 2001 PLANS Conference was held at the Flamingo Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 8-11. The conference was well attended with 41 members representing 31 companies, 2 guest companies and 2 vendors. The presentations covered the following topics: E-Bill presentation and payment, Data Warehousing, Commercial Rating - Star Solutions and an Eye on the Web, Internet Access to Production Data, Insurance Application Architecture / Policy Admin Systems, Web-based Agency System and Agency Access to Company Archives. The agenda also included the Open Forum, which continues to promote the exchange of information on many issues faced by IT staffs today.

The Fall 2000 PLANS Conference was held September 17-20 in San Diego, California at the Horton Grand Hotel. The meeting was attended by 30 representatives from 25 companies and one vendor. The presentations were: rule-based server systems to replace legacy systems, introduction to ASC/X12, imaging / automated workflow vendor selection, e-commerce round table, MS project and the role of the project controller, competitive salaries - oxymoron?, the GBR systems analysis technology for gathering business requirements, business process redesign, and a open forum discussion of IT issues. A representative from Power Plus Systems assisted in the business requirements presentation.

The Spring 2000 PLANS Conference was held in Lake Buena Vista, Fl. April 30-May 3 at the Grosvenor Resort in the Walt Disney World Resort. There were a total of 32 attendees representing 20 member companies and 7 guest companies. The members who attended the conference agreed that it was both beneficial and educational with presentations including E-commerce/E-Risk/E-Security, Moving from Legacy to Client/Server, Web to Host Forum, 2D Bar Coding, Corporate Computer Policies and Standards, Virus Response, Agency Company Interface, and What's new in HR. The open forums continue to be a source of information and new ideas.

The 1999 Fall PLANS Conference was held September 26-29 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at the Snow King Resort. The meeting was attended by thirty-three individuals representing twenty-four member companies. Five individuals from four guest companies also attended. Presentations included IS charge back and planning, imaging and customer service, automated work distribution, PeopleSoft, standalone alpha search, balanced scorecard, electronic data interchange, mergers and acquisition, IT environment, and an open forum. A vendor from Intelligent Search Solutions participated in one presentation. As always, the networking that takes place outside of the formal presentations provided a chance for attendees to share information concerning IT successes and challenges.

The 1999 Spring PLANS Conference was held April 11-14 in Clearwater, Florida at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort. Twenty-seven individuals representing twenty member companies attended the conference. Four individuals from four guest companies also attended. Agenda topics included Lotus Notes, disaster recovery, Y2K business resumption, strategic planning for IS, issues concerning the IT work environment, web enabled applications, data warehouse applications, project management and a technical overview of ACORD ObjX. A representative from ACORD assisted in a presentation. The final day of the conference included an open forum that allowed attendees to discuss various issues and share experiences dealing with challenging information technology issues.

The 1998 Fall PLANS Conference was held September 27-30 at the Fort Magruder Inn in Williamsburg, Virginia. In attendance wee 30 individuals representing 19 member companies and 3 guest companies. All three companies requested and were accepted into membership. Presentations included: Year 2000, Component Based Development, Frame Relay, Open Forum, Claim Systems, Internet Uses, and I.S. Environment. Vendors participating included Casetek and PDA.

The 1998 Spring PLANS Conference was held April 19-22 at the Sheraton at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. In attendance were 24 individuals representing 19 member companies and 1 guest company. Presentations included: Project Delivery Life Cycle, Outbound Document/Application Integration, Corporate Priorities, Computer Output Solutions, IVANS, I.S. Environment, Year 2000, Agency Interface, and Field Automation. Vendors participating included Napersoft and IVANS.

The 1997 Fall PLANS Conference was held October 5-8 at the Albuquerque, New Mexico Hyatt Regency Hotel. In attendance were 31 individuals representing 22 member companies and 2 guest companies. Presentations covered call management, field automation using Sapiens, Intranet, IS work environment and commercial lines automation. Vendors participating with member presentations included iiX on what they can do for you and Mozart Systems Connectivity.

The 1997 Spring PLANS Conference was held April 20-23 at the Charleston, South Carolina Hawthorn Suites Hotel. In attendance were 30 individuals representing 21 member companies. Presentations covered Project Office development, gathering business requirements, EDI, personal lines imaging and workflow, Internet, support transaction processing, challenges of implementing a corporate client system, IS work environment and DB2.

The Fall 1996 PLANS Conference was held September 17-20 at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. In attendance were 32 individuals representing 20 member companies, 12 guests, two prospective new member companies and three vendors. Presentations covered the following: DP organization, offsourcing/object-oriented, Internet/intranet, Year 2000, personal lines workflow, Lotus Notes, commercial quote and Sapiens, project office and project management and prioritization in today's world. Vendors assisting member presentations included Perot Systems, Unisys and Project Management Institute.

The Spring 1996 PLANS Conference was held April 21-24 at the Mariott Courtyard in Orlando, Florida. In attendance were 37 individuals presenting 26 member companies, four guests and two vendors. Presentations covered the following topics: project prioritization, internet/email, policy upload, rapid application development, implementing Allenbrook, data warehousing, IS organization issues, connectivity to data services, rate/issue software distribution to agents, and Year 2000. Vendors assisting member presentations included BWC and IBM. Attendees also identified and prioritized areas of interest to focus future meetings on member needs and interests.

The 1995 Fall PLANS Conference was held September 17-20 in Boulder, Colorado, at the Clarion Harvest House. In attendance were 28 individuals representing 17 member companies. Presentations covered customer service, image processing, employee recruitment, use of laptop computers in the field, STK Iceberg storage, financial management of information services, cancellation and non-renewal compliance and software distribution. Vendors participating with member presentations included Marketex, Martin-McKenna, Image Consulting, STK and Oden.

The 1995 Spring PLANS Conference was held April 2-5 at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel in New Orleans. The meeting was attended by 27 individuals representing 20 member companies. Agenda topics included EDI and glass networks, RAMAC storage, change control, expert systems for workers' compensation, interactive MVR and CLUE reports, project prioritization and E-Mail/EDI using Advantis. Vendors assisting member presentations included Safelite, Legent, Freedom Group and Advantis. Attendees also identified and prioritized areas of interest to focus future meetings on member needs.

The 1994 Fall Conference was held at the Sea Lodge Hotel in Lajolla, California. Topics discussed were corporate five-year planning-how the MIS plan must complement; host fax systems; continuous improvement projects; software negotiations; managing the desktop in a LAN/WAN environment; form maker, print archive and retrieval systems; and EDI-implementations. The group conducted a roundtable discussion on strategies and solutions for issues surrounding the Year 2000. Vendor presentations were given BWC Corporation on "Agency Automation, Solving the ACORD Problem" and from Allenbrook Corporation on "Automation-The Client Server Approach, Smart or Trendy?

As we move from conference to conference and members continue to speak or provide speakers, PLANS will remain one of the most knowledgeable, available, and economical information resources in the industry. Automation and management is our goal, with major emphasis on research and development, strategic planning, education, and auditing procedures.

The 1994 Spring Conference was held in Alexandria, Virginia, at the Old Town Holiday Inn. Management-related issues discussed included total quality management, continuous improvement and perspectives of a CFO by Donegal Mutual. Client server issues discussed included the management of software distribution, data administration issues, and the coexistence of client software distribution, data administration issues and the coexistence of client server systems and legacy systems. The issue of work management, both within and outside MIS, was also discussed. Finally, presentations from APT and Silverplume outlined what their organizations offer related to agency interface and electronic publishing, respectively.

The Fall 1993 PLANS Conference was held in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Attendance was somewhat disappointing, but on a positive note, we set up the meeting rooms in a roundtable conference-style arrangement. This stimulated conversation and helped contribute to a very productive conference. Again, we had excellent presentations from members, ranging from business continuation during the 1993 floods to client support in decentralized organizations. Vendor presentations were equally impressive and covered topics such as IAA, Lotus Notes, and Powerbuilder. The conference generated a number of changes in how we operate. We discussed increases in conference fees, frequency of meetings, profile and conference agenda recipients, as well as roles of board members on the program committee and past presidents on the membership committee. We continued, in the culture of our PLANS organization, to spend a great deal of our time and energy sharing opportunities, problems, and solutions for our common issues. Finally, our evenings were reserved for enjoyment and the camaraderie that has developed over many years.

The 1993 Spring Conference was held in San Antonio, Texas, at the Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk. A visit to USAA and a presentation of their image processing was a highlight of the conference.

The 1992 Fall Conference was held at the Williamsburg Hilton in Williamsburg, Virginia. Topics included updates on LANS, expert systems, communication between agents and home office, change control, client database, client computing-how to control, and imaging.

The 1992 Spring Conference was held at Grenelefe Resort, Grenelefe, Florida. Topics discussed included automated underwriting, DB2 projects, imaging, local area networks, tools for claims adjusters, executive information systems, programmer workstations, organizational structures, and trends in printing. Even though the conference facilities were a long drive from Orlando, and everywhere else, the sessions were well attended and the presenters did an excellent job of presenting their information.

The 1991 Fall Conference was held at Antlers Doubletree Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Topics discussed were agency automation, including downloading data to agency personal computers; agency interface to insurance company mainframe; and the agency perspective of automation. Other topics included imaging, remittance processing, an overview of the Insurance Data Management Association's training program, policy output distribution, and the use of local area networks. Safeco presented a videotape used by their company titled "Discovering the Future-The Business of Paradigms."

The 1991 Spring Conference was held at Mariner's Inn in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Topics discussed in the claims area included use of intelligent workstations, premium and loss management reporting, and medical fee systems. Other topics included disaster recovery, electronic publishing, a report from the U.S. Postal Service, corporate policy for personal computers, and trends in insurance companies as seen by PMS. We also enjoyed a fascinating report by Weyerhaeuser Corporation on there experience as a member of a task force that visited the Soviet Union for a comparative analysis of DP shops.

The Fall 1990 Conference was held at El Conquistador in Tucson, Arizona. Session topics included system-managed storage, outsourcing for PC usage, mechanized management marketing systems, DB2, organizational structure, and two vendor presentations on imaging. In addition, an open forum touched on a number of organization and management concerns of interest to all attendees.

The 1990 Spring Conference was in Boston, Massachusetts. A variety of topics were discussed. Some of the topics for discussion included automated policy assembly, laser printing, knowledge-based systems, bar coding and mailing, customer service function, on-line forms, rate base, and office vision. An open forum on Friday provided interesting discussions for all attendees.

The Fall 1989 Conference was at the Marriott Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, Florida. The theme of this session was Claims, and users were welcomed. Sessions included automated claims using a mainframes and minis, automated claims real time, mechanizing salvage recoveries, claims automation, an update on agency, automation at Kentucky Farm Bureau, scheduling and tracking maintenance projects at Shelby, roundtables on PC packages, roundtables on motivating, retaining and improving the morale of your people, and automated operations.

The 1989 Spring Conference was held in Toronto. Topics included automated claims processing, underwriter workstations, document issuance, image processing, commercial lines automation, business analysts, account billing, and expert systems.

The 1988 Fall Conference was in Nashville. Discussion subjects included a past president's roundtable, information systems planning, use of a planning steering committee in priority setting, laser printing, strategic planning process, local area, networks, use of PCs, image processing, expert systems activity in the industry, application development center, the death of coaxial cables, and executive information systems.

The 1988 Spring Conference was in St. Louis. Topics included laser printing, agency automation, agents single entry system, IVANS, commercial lines automation, and local area networks.

The 1987 Fall Conference returned to Lake Buena Vista. Presentations included data management direction, disaster recovery, PC COBOL development, commercial package policy, PC-based policy production system, in-house automated claims, local area networks, PC voice response systems, communication strategies, job scheduling, quality review, and long-range planning.

The 1987 Spring Conference was held in San Antonio. Subjects discussed were image processing, office administration, laser printing, help desk, billing systems, remote policy printing, performance management, programmer retention, and DEC page elimination.

The 1986 Fall Conference was at Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Illinois. The president of Motorists Mutual, presented "A View from the Top." Other topics were programmer environment and retention, image processing, strategic use of date, laser printing applications, COBOL restructuring, automated underwriting, in-house claims project, programmer training, and information distribution center.

The 1986 Spring Conference was in Lexington. The program included joint application design (JAD), knowledge-based systems, automated underwriting, stress management, programmer training and retention, computer-based training, and project development.

The 1985 Fall Conference was in Tucson. Presentations were made on laser printing, future calc, commercial rating on a LAN-based PC, future users of phone mail, computer-based training in insurance, productivity using function points, Integon's OCR payment system, and disaster recovery.

The 1985 Spring Conference was at Calloway Gardens. Topics included client-based systems, underwriting loss control, marketing in the 80's, financial services, banks in insurance, microcomputers, programmer productivity, and home workstations.

The 1984 Fall Conference was in Colorado Springs. Presentations were made on PMS workstations, telecommunications users and telemarketing, PC usage and control, file tracking system, third-party leasing, project management, programmer productivity, mega trends, and IBM hardware direction.

The 1984 Spring Confernece was held in Lake Buena Vista. The topics were user's view of IVANS, network control center and security of on-line systems, information center, development center, training of system analysts and project leaders, and computer-based training with PHOENIX.

The 1983 Fall Conference was in Toronto. The program included future direction of personal computers, Structured Query Language (SQL), status of IIR, automated underwriting, the human factor in the computer age, trends in output services, microcomputers in agency system, and productivity.

The 1983 Spring Conference, we met at Sawmill Creek Lodge in Huron, Ohio. Presentations were made on the IVANS network, agency company access package and hardware accounting system, automated underwriting reports, the Equifax automated system, buy/lease/rental decisions, cost control, value added networks, and microcomputers.

The 1982 Fall Conference was in Hershey. Topics included training and career paths, office automation, project control, agency automation, productivity aids, information center, microcomputers, networking, and tracking costs.

The 1982 Spring Conference was at Callaway Gardens. Office Automation was the central theme. Presentations were also made on productivity in the 80's and an update on automating the agency system.

The 1981 Fall Conference was in Austin and had Commercial Lines Automation as its theme.

The 1981 Spring Conference in Lake Buena Vista centered on the use of agency terminals.

The 1980 Fall Conference was in Nashville with a focus on Claims Management. Northwestern National, and J.C. Penney Insurance, wrote on the ever-increasing costs of claims, from casualty repair costs to worker's compensation.

The 1980 Spring Conference was in New Orleans was the theme was Personnel and Productivity.