US captive conference cancelled due to Coronavirus fears

One of the biggest conferences in the world of captive insurance has been cancelled at short notice due to concerns over the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The CICA 2020 International Conference, which was due to take place in Palm Springs, California, from March 8-10, has been cancelled. California’s governor officially declared a state of emergency on Wednesday March 4, hours after the state’s first death from the illness, and this prompted the decision to cancel the captive conference.

CICA president Dan Towle said: “This week we have been watching carefully all travel and health issues surrounding COVID-19 specifically the state of California’s status and their declaration of a state of emergency. After talking with many CICA members, conference stakeholders, and speakers, the CICA board of directors has weighed all the information and concerns and has made the difficult decision to cancel the CICA 2020 International Conference. We may look at having a conference later in the year if practicable. We do not have all the answers yet about refunds for our conference or new dates but promise to have all those answers in the coming weeks.

“We understand this is a challenging time for many as we navigate increasing health concerns, changing business travel policies and other issues related to COVID-19. As you know from my earlier emails this week, CICA has been actively monitoring COVID-19 developments and working with our hotel and stakeholders. We recognize that the timing of this decision may significantly inconvenience some of you, however, this decision was made out of deep concern for the health and well-being of our members, attendees, and all of our stakeholders as you are always our top priority. It was also alarming to see so many of our member companies already having issued strict travel bans and we saw this trend increasing.

“We want to thank all our members, colleagues, speakers, sponsors and exhibitors for their support, open communication and encouragement. We appreciate that the CICA Conference is valued by so many. We hope to reschedule the conference for later this year, if feasible. We will work with our stakeholders and you our members and will share more information in the coming weeks.”