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Mancini's Musings on the 15th World Captive Forum

(More lighthearted post-conference frivolity from Chris Mancini, CEO, captive.com)

Alright, Musings Fans, all our post-conference fires at captive.com have been extinguished to smoking ruins, and it's time to share a few thoughts on my impressions of the 2005 World Captive Forum.

This year's event can be summed up in one word: OUTSTANDING!

Despite Florida's streak of bad luck with weather over the last couple of years, WCF managed to conspire with the weatherman to deliver delightful, sunny days throughout the event. Lots of trees were down in the area, and power still hadn't been restored to much of Miami-Dade county. With the exception of a slightly-changed landscape on the golf course where enormous root balls attached to horizontal trees were everywhere, all was well at the conference hotel. I don't suppose anybody from the conference left to participate in the debauchery at South Beach, though, since the conference sessions and networking events were full, and feedback was extremely positive.

The Employee Benefits in Captives Track was met with considerable enthusiasm. It became apparent to me that the momentum is gathering for this type of captive. The speakers and audience reactions to new Sarbanes-Oxley regulations were especially pointed, coming from risk managers themselves.

The 15th World Captive Forum, from its Captive Basics workshop to its state-of-the-art sessions kept the audience constantly engaged, based on the flurry of questions that flew thick and fast after each session.

While we heard good things about virtually all of the presentations, some of the star sessions included

• Ernie Csiszar's keynote presentation covering the emerging landscape of insurance and risk financing, highlighting the dramatic industry and regulatory changes that have ensued over the last 12 months;
• Kenneth Porter, the Director of Corporate Insurance & Global Benefits Financial Planning, DuPont Finance, who addressed post-retirement medical benefits and pensions; and
• Bill McMahon, Risk Manager, Fleetwood Enterprises, discussing how he spent six weeks of his life during the last year complying with Sarbanes-Oxley obligations, which accountants seemed to be making up as they went along.

Of course, Hugh Rosenbaum could always be found running around with his bow tie and red shirt at all times, probing session presenters with his ever-pointed questions, and ensuring that everything was running smoothly.

Now, we all know that WCF has the reputation of being one of the most well-run conferences in the industry, and this event was no exception. Our congratulations to Business Insurance, Quest and Towers Perrin for producing another premier event. Kudos, too, to the good folks at the Harrington Company for ensuring that every last detail of the event went down like clockwork.

For planning purposes, next year's WCF is headin' out west! Join us at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess from November 13-15, 2006 for the 16th World Captive Forum. Contact WCF by phone at 952.928.4659, or by e-mail at info@worldcaptiveforum.com for exhibitor and sponsorship information.