The Captive Insurance Companies Association’s (CICA) president Dan Towle has revealed it is moving forward with plans for an in-person conference in 2021. Towle explained that although plans are in place, CICA has postponed the registration process as it continues to evaluate the ability to safely host the annual conference in March. The conference is set to take place on 14 to 16 March at the Westin Kierland, Scottsdale, Arizona. Dan Towle, president of CICA, noted: “We feel it would be premature to decide on cancelling our conference, postponing, or providing content in an alternate format at this time. It is too early to have all the information we need to make an informed decision.” Towle said: “We fully understand there is a significant chance it would not be safe to hold an in-person event at that time.” In the event the conference has to be cancelled, Towle said CICA plans to deliver the education that was scheduled for the March conference through an on-demand platform. “We hope to provide this for a nominal fee or perhaps free to CICA members if appropriate sponsorship levels are reached. If we have to cancel, we will not offer a virtual conference,” Towle added. However, Towle suggested that one possibility may be for CICA to schedule an alternative in-person event for later in the year if they have to cancel the conference. “We understand that potentially creates scheduling problems especially concerning the vast number of industry events that occur in the second half of the year,” he explained. In March, CICA had to cancel its 2020 International Conference because of safety concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CICA settled its event cancellation insurance claim with Tokio Marine HCC in August. If CICA has to cancel next year’s event, Towle said: “We may just look forward to Tucson for CICA’s 2022 conference with the large-scale event you all have come to expect from CICA.” The CICA president concluded: “It is too early for us to know which of the plans is our best option to pursue. While infections seem to be spiking now, we are all hopeful for a rapid roll-out of multiple COVID-19 vaccines which should accelerate a return to normal life for us all later in 2021 and into 2022.” Recently, both Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) and the World Captive Forum (WCF) announced that they will host next year’s events in a virtual format.
