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By CYRIL TUOHY, managing editor of Risk & Insurance®

Wanna talk claims? At RIMS 2010? In Boston? You got it. Here's what's coming your way if you're in the market to learn about recent trends in the claims segment:

2. Business Interruption Crash Course, Tuesday, April 27, between 9 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. David B. Goodwin, partner with Covington & Burling, is scheduled to speak with Polly E. James, manager of global business continuity planning and business crisis management at General Motors. Rounding out the trio in this session will be Allen Melton, a partner with Ernst & Young.

Attendees can expect to listen as James reveals what she went through in the past 12 months with GM filing for and then emerging from bankruptcy. Not for nothing that RIMS organizers titled this "Crash Course."

3. Gotcha! Top Ten Litigation Traps for Risk Professionals, Thursday, April 29, from 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. This session is geared toward risk professionals with legal-related issues on the mind. Speakers will give attendees tips on how to spot litigation snares and how to avoid them. Attorney Mary Craig Calkins, a partner with Howrey LLP, and Lori Jorgensen, senior director, finance, with Microsoft Corp., are the scheduled speakers, along with William P. Lyons Jr., vice president risk management at PETCO Animal Supplies Inc.

4. Managing Catastrophic Claims in Unprecedented Times, Wednesday, April 28, from 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Record-breaking losses, the Madoff and Stanford scandals, GM's bankruptcy, AIG's near collapse--this session had better be packed. The big hitters leading this session include: John B. Jacobs, executive vice president, Willis; Beaumont Vance, head of insurance risk at Fidelity Investments; and Richard C. Woollams, senior vice president and chief claims officer with Chartis.

5. Mitigating Defense Costs in a Tough Economy, Tuesday, April 27, from 2:15 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Now, here's a useful session. Who wouldn't want to learn firsthand how to maneuver the errors and omissions (E&O) liability claims gauntlet? All the while, plaintiff's lawyers are chomping at the bit to get their "fair" share following the serious mismanagement on the part of the banks and other financial services giants.

Leaders in this session include Robert Blasio, president and CEO, Western Litigation Inc.; Amanda J. Mount, claims attorney, Western Litigation; and Mark D. Wilford, assistant vice president, claims and insurance, TeamHealth.

6. To Catch a Thief: What's in Your Fraud Toolbox? Wednesday, April 28, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. With insurance claims fraud being a billion-dollar industry, there are surely many thieves to catch. This session will brief risk managers on how to make every second count when it comes to identifying and deterring fraud. With shrinking profits, rooting out fraud is paramount. But with layoffs and fewer employees, it's not like firms have the staff to go hunting through questionable claims.

To the rescue come Timothy Barry, director, special investigative unit, with Specialty Risk Services; Nancy P. Norman, director, risk management, Dollar Tree Stores Inc.; and Mary Ellen Rawlings, corporate claims manager with Alcoa Inc., who are expected to lead this session.

7. Just in case managers needed a primer on the fundamental of claims management, they shouldn't overlook the session by the same title. The session will be held on Monday, between 1:45 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., with Keith D. Barron, chief of risk management for the city of Richmond; Darrell Brown, workers' compensation practice leaders with Sedgwick CMS; and Ronald W. Thackery, senior vice president, professional services, with the American Medical Response.

April 1, 2010

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