Conference Schedule

Golf Tournament Check-in

Golf Tournament Tee-off

Conference Registration

Golfer’s Lunch and Awards

CE: 2 – From Personal Lines to Commercial Lines: Building Your Commercial Insurance Expertise (Repeated Friday at 2:00 p.m.)

Mary Kananen, LyteSpeed

This course provides insurance professionals with a practical introduction to commercial insurance. Participants will learn how commercial risks differ from personal risks, identify common business exposures, understand key commercial coverages, and develop strategies for successfully transitioning clients and growing a commercial lines practice.

CE: 2 – From Quote to Close: Operational Excellence That Protects Clients

Samantha Tradelius, Vice President Operations, LyteSpeed

In today’s insurance environment, clients are overwhelmed by rising premiums, coverage restrictions, changing underwriting standards, and confusing policy language. This course helps insurance professionals navigate difficult conversations with confidence, strengthen operational workflows, and shift from transactional selling to trusted risk advising.

Designed for modern agencies operating in a challenging marketplace, this session focuses on transparency, ethical communication, operational discipline, and client-centered service that builds long-term trust and retention.

Welcome Mixer (Ticketed Event)

Conference Registration

CE: 2 – How Can AI Help My Agency?

Danielle Pavone Henderson, Co-Founder, Digital Wave Media Solutions, LyteSpeed

Artificial Intelligence is changing the way insurance agencies operate—but what does that actually mean for agents and agency teams in the real world?

This fast-paced, practical session breaks down how insurance professionals can use AI to improve efficiency, strengthen communication, reduce administrative workload, and create better client experiences without losing the human touch that drives trust and retention. Designed specifically for insurance agencies, this course focuses on practical implementation—not tech jargon.

CE: 1 – Writing Mexico Insurance Responsibly

Charles Lundy, CEO, MexInsurance Solutions, Inc.

An in-depth examination of Mexico insurance for U.S. agents, including key coverage differences, underwriting nuances, aging-vehicle eligibility, and trucking requirements. Participants will  examine surplus lines responsibilities, client-data protection, responsible risk placement, and effective cross-border claims handing.

Workshop: Got Seniors? Become a Medicare Agent!

Peter Blasi, CEO, My Senior Health Plan (a subsidiary of Financial Grade)

How do you help your senior population? Be ready to become a Medicare Agent or add Medicare into your portfolio. Immerse in learning the requirements on how to become a Medicare Agent and get connected with a Field Marketing Organization (FMO) to assist you with licensing and contracting with top national carriers.

CE: 1 – Surplus Lines Market: Closing California’s Wildfire & Earthquake Insurance Protection Gap

John Forney, President and CEO, GeoVera Nova Insurance Group; Glenn Pomeroy, Chief Strategy Officer, GeoVera Nova; Ben McKay, CEO, California Surplus Lines Association, Samantha Tradelius, Vice President Operations, Lytespeed; Michel Swoy, Sales Manager, SageSure; Victor Alemania, Sales Manager, SageSure

This course will increase agent awareness of the surplus lines market and the role it plays in closing the natural catastrophe insurance gap in California. It will provide an overview of the global natural catastrophe insurance, California’s unique protection gap with respect to wildfire and earthquakes, a detailed explanation of the Surplus Lines market in California and scenarios in which a homeowner risk may need an E&S solution.

CE: 1 – California’s Insurance Landscape: Challenges, Changes & Solutions

Robert Feldman, CEO & Founder, WOWS Insurance Services

This course provides insurance professionals with a comprehensive understanding of California’s rapidly evolving home insurance landscape, focusing on practical fire hardening strategies, loss mitigation measures, and structural improvements that directly impact coverage eligibility and premium costs. Participants will explore the next generation of insurance solutions, including emerging markets and legislative reforms designed to address the state’s ongoing insurance crisis. Attendees will gain actionable knowledge on risk mitigation techniques — from vegetation management and tempered glass requirements to earthquake valves, fire suppression systems, and proper zone hardening — empowering them to better advise clients and confidently navigate coverage decisions in high-risk areas.

Workshop: Turn Marketing Activity Into Sales Opportunities

Lucas Hendricks, CEO, LiftLocal

Most agencies are sitting on untapped sales opportunities and don’t know it. Learn how to use marketing automation to spot who’s ready to buy, who’s at risk of leaving, and exactly when to reach out — so no opportunity slips through the cracks. Discover how top insurance agencies use marketing automation

Workshop: Support Team Mastery: Leveraging VAs + AI

Johnny Walker, Sales Director, LAVA Automation

Learn how to build high-performance support teams using VAs + AI. Create structure, accountability, and energy across remote staff, improve SOPs and culture, and free your producers from busywork so your agency scales faster with stronger relationships with smarter workflows.

CE: 2 – Practical Guide to Commercial Insurance Applications

Samantha Tradelius, Vice President Operations, LyteSpeed

Strong submissions lead to stronger underwriting results. This course provides a practical, step-by-step approach to building complete commercial insurance applications, organizing supporting documentation, and avoiding common submission errors that can delay or prevent coverage. Participants will learn best practices for presenting risks, completing ACORD applications, and creating submission packages that improve communication with underwriters and increase placement opportunities.

CE: 1 – Personal Lines Underwriting: Aiming for Excellence

Tyler Nicholson, Chief Revenue & Distribution Officer, Aspire General Insurance

This course is designed to educate the agent or broker in the proper best practices of personal lines underwriting. With this knowledge the agent or broker will be able to apply best practices within their firm to maximize their potential across all their personal lines markets to provide excellent customer service and ensure a long-term relationship with their clients as well as carriers and GA partners.

Workshop: Stop the Silent Churn: A Retention Blueprint for Independent Agencies

Jeff Coggins, Director of Sales, Zywave

Engaged clients renew. Engaged clients buy more. Engaged clients refer. But engagement doesn’t happen by accident — it requires different motions at different moments across the client lifecycle. This session shows agents and brokers how to execute those motions consistently, across every account tier, before opportunity slips away.

Workshop: Touchless Accounting: Automating ePayPolicy, AMS, and Financing

Jorge De La Cerda, Partnership Manager, ePayPolicy

Stop manual entry! While many use ePayPolicy, few leverage full automation. Learn to create a ‘digital handshake’ between ePayPolicy, your AMS, and premium finance partners. We’ll show you how to sync payments directly to systems like Epic CSR24, Vertafore, or HawkSoft—eliminating manual work and accelerating your binding process.

CE: 1 (pending) – Agency Compliance Is Not Optional

Mark Robinson, Founding Partner, Michelman Robinson

Insurance agencies can no longer afford to treat compliance as a back-office function or a periodic exercise. Compliance is about protecting the agency’s business, reputation, and long-term enterprise value. Will review the top compliance issues that agency owners face and solutions.

Tradeshow Open

Strolling Lunch (Ticketed Event)

Workshop: The Great Pause: Preserving Agency in an Age of Artificial Intelligence and Consolidation

Jerry Conrey, Agency Principal, Conrey Insurance Brokers & Risk Managers

Based on themes from his forthcoming book The Great Pause, Jerry Conrey explores the question at the heart of agency succession, AI adoption, and organizational change: Who should hold the judgment? Through storytelling, practical insight, and audience discussion, this session examines how independent agencies can embrace innovation while preserving the stewardship, trust, and human judgment that remain essential to leadership and long-term success.

CE: 2 – Personal Lines to Commercial Lines: Building Your Commercial Insurance Expertise (Repeated Thursday at 2:00 p.m.)

Mary Kananen, LyteSpeed

This course provides insurance professionals with a practical introduction to commercial insurance. Participants will learn how commercial risks differ from personal risks, identify common business exposures, understand key commercial coverages, and develop strategies for successfully transitioning clients and growing a commercial lines practice.

Workshop: Winner’s Exit Playbook: Advisors, Deals & After-tax Dollars

Charles Goldblum, CFA, CFP, Founder/Financial Consultant, Hurley Capital, LLC

When you sell your agency, everyone in the room has conflicting incentives. This session cuts through the noise — evaluating M&A advisors, understanding your true after-tax net, and making smart financial decisions before, during and after the deal. One chair in that room is usually empty.

Drawing & Cash Giveaways on Trade Show Floor

A Very Happy Hour (Ticketed Event)

Registration Open

Workshop: Utilizing the SBA for M&A

Mitch Jones, Sr. Vice President, United Midwest Savings Bank

Learn about some ins and outs of the SBA Program, which is often misunderstood. Why do you need? How does it work? Is it right for me? Information and Q&A on agency expansion, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and more.

Workshop: Questions to Ask When Choosing a Tech Provider

Mike Morris, Agency Consultant, HawkSoft

Choosing the right technology vendor is a critical decision. Asking the right questions makes all the difference between a partnership that drives growth and one that drains resources. Learn the questions every decision-maker needs to ask before signing on the dotted line — so you can invest with confidence.

CE: 1 – Living in Earthquake Country… The Risk is Real

Steve Goebel, Business Development Manager, Arrowhead General Insurance Agency

An in-depth look at commercial and residential earthquake exposures, innovative insurance solutions, and effective sales strategies that help protect your clients—while maximizing revenue opportunities for your agency.

CE: 2 – Professional Digital Presence: Best Practices, Compliance, and Consumer Trust for Insurance Professionals

Samantha Tradelius, Vice President Operations, LyteSpeed; Danielle Pavone Henderson, Co-Founder, Digital Wave Media Solutions

In today’s marketplace, clients are choosing agents long before the first quote is delivered. Your website, social media presence, messaging, communication style, and professional reputation all shape client expectations, trust, and buying decisions. This course helps insurance professionals build a strong, compliant, and credible brand that supports ethical marketing, accurate representation, client retention, and long-term business growth. This is not influencer culture. This is operational branding for insurance professionals.

CE: 2 – Commercial Package Policies and Beyond: An Integrated Approach to Risk Management

Mary Kananen, LyteSpeed

Businesses face increasingly complex and interconnected risks that often require multiple insurance policies working together. This course examines how commercial insurance coverages can be integrated to create comprehensive protection for business clients. Participants will learn how property, liability, auto, workers’ compensation, cyber, inland marine, and specialty coverages interact, where coverage gaps commonly occur, and how to develop coordinated insurance solutions that address a client’s overall risk profile.

Workshop: Winning More Commercial Auto Business: From Risk Identification to Placement

Kemper Auto Commercial

Learn how to identify, quote, and place small- to mid-size commercial auto risks with confidence. This session breaks down common underwriting roadblocks, provides an overview of key filings and when they apply, and shares submission best practices to help agents avoid declines and grow their commercial auto book.

Workshop: Solutions for the HO Insurance Crisis

Ben Glispie, National Agency Channel Lead, BriteCo

A 2025 survey of 427 independent insurance agents across the US sponsored by BriteCo revealed how they are dealing with the crisis in HO insurance. While agents recommend higher deductibles, home hardening and shopping for more affordable policies.

Workshop: Operational Modernization and AI Readiness for Insurance Agencies

Norm Hudson, Co-Founder & CEO, Staff Boom

Insurance agencies face mounting pressure from AI adoption, workforce gaps, and operational complexity. This session explores practical strategies for modernizing agency operations, building AI-ready infrastructure, and scaling teams without losing service quality, equipping agents with actionable frameworks for sustainable growth in today’s rapidly evolving insurance landscape.

CE: 1 – Flood Insurance Fundamentals: Understanding NFIP Coverage and Private Flood Insurance Options

Mark Lujan, CFM, ANFI, Business Development Manager, DUAL North America

This course provides insurance professionals with a practical understanding of flood risk, flood insurance coverage, and the evolving role of private flood insurance.

General Session: Keynote

Description To Come

Tradeshow Open

CE: 3 (pending) – AML in Practice: Recognizing, Preventing, and Reporting Money Laundering Risk (Satisfies Ethics CE requirement, Includes Anti-Fraud Awareness Training)

Mary Kananen, LyteSpeed

This course provides an update on anti-money laundering (AML) laws, regulations, and best practices. Participants will learn how money laundering schemes operate, identify common red flags, understand customer due diligence (CDD) requirements, recognize beneficial ownership issues, and fulfill reporting obligations. Through practical examples and case studies, attendees will strengthen their ability to detect suspicious activity and support regulatory compliance. (Satisfies Ethics CE requirement, Includes Anti-Fraud Awareness Training)

CE: 1 – Staying Independent and Building a High-Performance Firm

Andrew Katz, Senior Vice President, Business Strategy and Growth, Marsh Berry; Graham Gould, Vice President, MarshBerry

Choosing not to sell your firm – at least for now – opens the door to a different and equally important challenge: how do you set bold goals, align your team, and drive meaningful, sustained results? This session explores how to create a clear strategic vision while building the internal systems, that fuel performance, growth, and client excellence.

Workshop: AI-Powered Referral Growth for Modern Insurance Agencies

Casey Armstrong, Account Executive, Canopy Connect

Referral business continues to be one of the highest-converting growth channels for insurance agencies, but most referral partnerships still rely on inconsistent follow-up, manual processes, and hope. In this session, Casey Armstrong will explore how agencies can combine relationship-driven referral strategies with modern AI tools and automation to create scalable, repeatable referral growth systems. Attendees will learn how to reduce friction in the referral process, improve partner engagement, automate key touchpoints, and create personalized referral experiences that are easier for partners and clients to act on.

Dessert Bar Sponsored by Zywave

Drawing & Cash Giveaways on Trade Show Floor

Annual Members-Only Reception & Meeting

Grand Finale Dinner Mixer (Ticketed Event)

Casino Night (Open to all registered attendees)