Insurance And The Internet Explored At Third Annual Producers' Forum

Commonwealth Riskny insurance professionals, the use of the Internet as a means to market products and services is a debate that, while already won, continues to serve as a topic for major disagreement on effectiveness and potential profitability. In fact, hundreds of the nation's leading insurance brokers, regional agents and managing general agencies are already using the Internet to describe their products and services, recruit top industry talent and position their agencies as leaders within their market niches.

At the <%=company%>, to be held in Philadelphia, October 19-21, 1998, two leading Internet entrepreneurs and strategists, Mark L. Walsh, president and CEO, VerticalNet, Inc. and Daniel S. Janal, president, Janal Communications, will provide informed accounts of how world industry, and in particular U.S.-based insurance agents and brokers, are effectively utilizing the Internet.

Mark L. Walsh earned his MBA from Harvard and previously held senior positions at America Online. Prior to joining AOL, Walsh was the president of Genie, the online service owned by GE. He also served as president of Information Kinetics, Inc., a venture capital backed interactive information company focusing on the recruitment and classified advertising market.

Daniel S. Janal is an internationally-recognized speaker, Internet marketer and best-selling author. As president of Janal Communications, he conducts strategic planning and trends forecasting for a wide range of clients, from start-ups to the global Fortune 1000. A former public relations executive, Janal was on the PR team that launched America Online and personally directed the PR launch of Grolier's electronic Encyclopedia, the first consumer software program ever produced on a CD-ROM. Janal is noted for his accurate forecasts on how new technology impacts business, customers, markets and culture. He is the author of three best-selling Internet related books.

The 1998 Third Annual Producers' Forum will feature other senior industry professionals including: C. William Cole, Director of ART Programs, Swiss Reinsurance American Corp.; Charles N. Fiske, senior vice president, Sedgwick, Inc.; Weston M. Hicks, senior research analyst, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc.; Brian M. O'Hara, Chairman, X.L. Insurance Co., Ltd.; and Nigel Rogers, President & CEO, Terra Nova Insurance Company and Octavian Management Syndicates Ltd., as well as others.

Conference sponsors include: Crawford & Company, Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc., Commonwealth Risk, GENEX Services, Inc., The Graham Company, Hannover Re, Lindsey Morden, The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, PropertyAndCasualty.com, Risk Enterprise Management Limited, RiskCap, Towers Perrin Reinsurance/Tillinghast-Towers Perrin and Ward North America, Inc.

The Annual Producers' Forum, hosted by Philadelphia-based <%=company%>, is a venue for insurance agents, brokers and reinsurance intermediaries interested in advancing their knowledge of today's risk financing marketplace. The Forum delivers the most advanced topics, qualified speakers and networking opportunities the industry has to offer.