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The ABI (Association of British Insurers) will hold its second biennial conference on Wednesday 9 March at the QE II Conference Centre in Westminster. Entitled “Building a stronger future – creating security in a risky world”, the conference will hear from major speakers, and attract a high quality audience of senior executives from the ABI’s member companies together with a wide range of city, government and other figures. For the first time, the conference will include a large number of breakout sessions.  PricewaterhouseCoopers are sponsors of the conference; the media partners are The Financial Times, Post Magazine and Financial Adviser. 

Mary Francis, Director General of the ABI, said,

“This year’s ABI conference will be a key event for the insurance industry.  We will address a large number of issues that face our industry from the compensation culture to the cost of regulation.  In this election year, we will also be discussing the priorities for the next Parliament, particularly in relation to pensions and savings.”

Ian Dilks of PricewaterhouseCoopers added,

“PricewaterhouseCoopers are delighted to sponsor the ABI’s 2005 Conference.  This looks set to be equally as rewarding for British insurers as the last one, given the range of issues and challenges on the conference agenda.”
 
Confirmed speakers at the event include:
· Brendan Barber – General Secretary, TUC
· Lord Brittan
· Vince Cable MP - Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
· John Cridland – Deputy Director-General, CBI
· Ian Dilks – Chairman, European Insurance Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers
· Professor David Greenaway, author of the recent report of Government on uninsured driving
· Richard Harvey - Chief Executive, Aviva plc and Chairman, ABI
· The Rt. Hon Alan Johnson MP - Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
· David Jamieson MP - Transport Minister
· Professor Sir David King – Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government
· Jeff Randall - BBC Business Editor
· Martin Temple - Director-General, Engineering Employers’ Federation
· Stephen Timms MP - Financial Secretary to the Treasury
· John Tiner - Chief Executive, FSA
· Professor Sir David Tweedie - Chairman, International Accounting Standards Board
· Malcolm Wicks MP - Minister of State for Pensions
· David Willetts MP - Shadow Secretary of State for Work & Pensions and Welfare Reform

The wide range of issues to be covered at the conference includes:
· Climate change and insurance
· Priorities for pensions and savings in the next Parliament
· The cost of regulation
· Trust and confidence in the long term savings industry
· Uninsured driving
· Pensions and the workplace
· Prudential and solvency regulation
· Fighting insurance fraud
· The economic and social value of general insurance
· The new Europe – new Members, new Commission and new Parliament
· International accounting standards
· Compensation, the law and liability insurance
· Health insurance and attitudes to healthcare
· Increasing trade in financial services

Ends

Notes

Notes for Editors

1. Enquiries to: 
Alan Leaman  020 7216 7440 (Mobile: 07957 482330)
   Leonie Edwards 020 7216 7394 (Mobile: 07736 664 343)
   Malcolm Tarling  020 7216 7410 (Mobile: 07776 147667)

2. All media representatives are welcome to attend the Conference.  Places must be booked in advance of the Conference.

3. If you would like to attend as a member of the media, please email or print and fax back the form attached to this press release.

4. The ABI is the trade association for Britain’s insurance industry. Its nearly 400 member companies provide over 94% of the insurance business in the UK. It represents insurance companies to the Government, and to the regulatory and other agencies, and is an influential voice on public policy and financial services issues. ABI member companies hold more than a fifth of all investments traded on the London Stock Exchange, on behalf of millions of pensioners and savers.

Copies of all ABI news releases, together with other information from the Association, can be seen on our website http://www.abi.org.uk

09/05