PLRB/LIRB Large Loss Conference Canceled

The PLRB/LIRB Large Loss Conference, scheduled to be held in Washington, D.C., October 29 to October 31, has been canceled because of Hurricane Sandy’s threat to the District of Columbia.

“We made the decision to cancel the conference late on Saturday, October 27, after the major airlines began canceling flights and operations at the Washington, D.C., airports effective Sunday afternoon, October 28,” said Scott Powell, vice president, Educational and Technical Services, Property Loss Research Bureau. “Information from the airlines, up until Saturday night, had been that operations would likely continue through mid-day on Monday, which would have accommodated most of the air travelers coming to the Conference.”

“We had been carefully monitoring Sandy since it developed in the Caribbean Sea over a week ago,” said Thomas W. Mallin, president and CEO. “We were continuously monitoring the storm’s development as it would affect Washington, D.C. When we evaluated the weather developments and impact they would have on the airlines, we made the decision to cancel.”

“The Large Loss Conference presenters have worked diligently to put together excellent sessions,” noted Powell. “We thank them for their efforts and are sorry they will be unable to deliver the presentations in Washington this year. We will look at the possibility of engaging these same speakers and many of these same outstanding sessions at next year’s 2013 Large Loss Conference in Jacksonville, Fla.”

“This is the first conference in the history of the PLRB that had to be canceled for any reason,” observed Mallin. “I hope it is the last. The disruption of schedules and general inconvenience it causes the attendees, the presenters and the sponsors, while unavoidable, are distressing to us.”

Source: Property Loss Research Bureau and the Liability Insurance Research Bureau