LOCAL, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS NEWS: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNDERWRITING STUDY GROUP
Rafael R. Shabetai International Life Chief Underwriter Manhattan-Trust Intl. Insurer New Orleans, LA rafaelshabetai@manhattan-trust.com
While attending the second AHOU Conference in San Francisco in 2003, a small group of underwrit - ers doing business in international markets, mainly Central and South America, got together over dinner thinking of the possibility of forming a formal group to exchange information and trends. Under the lead of the author, the International Un - derwriting Study Group was founded in 2004 with the blessings of the AHOU, which provided a meet - ing room at the hotel the morning before the official opening of the conference. The late Hank George and the late John Krinik were the ones who inspired me to create the group. They and Paul Howman, President of AHOU at the time, were very supportive. The group was formally inaugurated at the 2004 AHOU on October 3, 2004, in Chicago, IL, and the first meeting took place. The initial members were: • Dr. Carlos Martínez , Chief Underwriter of Na - tional Western Life • Freddy Velasco , Senior Underwriter at American Bankers Life • Bob Cicchi , AUL • Chantal Vollbracht and Tom Bienvenu of ExamOne • Steve Anderson and Jeanette Hernández of American Fidelity Most of them moved on to other positions or compa - nies and others retired.
Executive Summary The IUSG recently held its 20 th Anniversary Meeting. What started as a small group of underwriters specializing in Latin American markets grew over the years. Experi- enced underwriters presented several topics of interest, as they have been doing for 2 decades. Challenges and opportunities were discussed at a high level. 2025 authorities were elected as well. Who would have thought that such a small group was going to grow over the years and become much stronger, with up to 35 Senior and Chief Underwriters attending pre-pandemic meetings. Like for anyone else, COVID-19 was only a “ralentis - seur.” At the Denver Conference in 2022, we came back, and by the time of the 20 th anniversary in Boston, we had already regained a large part of our recurrent members and core group. At the milestones of 5, 10, 15 and 20 years, we cel - ebrated with a special anniversary cake that was graciously provided by some of the sponsors. And for the previous years, we also featured a musical enter- tainment with local Latin American groups during an extended coffee break. The discussions were always very informative and educational, not only for the regular attendees, but also for those who were only able to attend one or two meetings. The meetings were always governed by the Anti-Trust regulations, very similar to the ones of the AHOU. Speaking of sponsors, we were very grateful to have ExamOne, International Underwriting Solutions,
ON THE RISK vol.40 n.3 (2024)
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