News from AIDA - Helsinki hosts Presidential Council

I attended the first Presidential Council meeting for 2016 in Helsinki on 15 June.

The meeting was well attended with strong representation from all European chapters and representatives from four South American chapters.

Issues of note included:

Two new Presidential Council members were appointed – a representative from Poland, Ana Taradiuk, and one from Taiwan, Jan Juy Lin.
While Jan Juy Lin was unable to attend, I am reliably informed he will be an active AIDA Presidential Council member. He has expressed a desire to support the Singapore Conference in 2017 and join the organising committee to ensure the first Asian regional conference and Presidential Council meeting is an unqualified success.

A significant development for AIDA involves work being conducted on the AIDA website. Several international members view the new Australian site as a model for the AIDA site. Much of the success in ensuring the site’s relevance will be its ability to provide details on international chapters and major events hosted in the chapters and regions that may be of interest to the international membership.

There is an intention that major educational initiatives, such as research papers and scholarships, are publicised to the widest possible audience as an opportunity to attract interest from younger AIDA chapter members who may wish to submit papers or apply for scholarships. The site will include much material on the activities of the various AIDA working parties, again with a view to attracting wider input from international chapters.
It is most important that each region provides up-to-date information on their chapters’ major activities. As the Australian representative I will do so on behalf of Australia and NZ.

Another key issue considered at the Helsinki meeting was the program for the AIDA World Congress in Rio in 2018.

Four topics agreed were:

• Insurance and new technology
• Pre-contractual disclosure law
• Governance of insurance companies
• Pollution insurance – types of coverage available and the beneficiaries of cover

As the host nation, Brazil was entitled to pick a theme; it selected pollution insurance.

Discussion briefly focused on a general outline of the 2022 Melbourne AIDA World Congress. The council was delighted Australia had already selected a host city and conference venue and that the meeting will enjoy strong support from AILA.

It was clear that board members have fond memories of the very successful World Congress hosted in Sydney in the 1990s and the 2013 AILA National Conference in Sydney that coincided with a Presidential Council meeting and AIDA working party meetings.

The Helsinki meeting was an opportunity to provide the Australian and New Zealand regional reports for 2015-16. It is apparent to all Presidential Council members how dynamic the Australian and New Zealand chapters are. We can proudly boast the most expansive and comprehensive educational program of any AIDA chapter in the world.

That reflects the commitment and dedication of the Australian and NZ committees and the enormous amount of work that goes into initiatives such as the Young Insurance Professionals programs in both countries and, in Australia, the very successful Geoff Masel lecture series.

An international initiative being driven by Prof Rob Merkin and two Italian representatives, Prof Pierpaolo Marano and Sara Landini, is to create an International Academy for Insurance Law. It would involve members around the world (particularly younger members) writing papers on insurance law issues which would be peer reviewed by appointed AIDA Presidential Council members and, if accepted, published. Pierpaolo spoke at the AILA National Conference in Melbourne last year.

There is a lot happening with AIDA and central to its expansion worldwide is the close cooperation that exists with US and European colleagues in FDCC and the major initiative of the first Asian regional conference in Singapore in September 2017. I hope to see many of you there.