History of the IILA

OUR HISTORY 1966 — 2015

In 1966, two of the most experienced property adjusters in the Western Hemisphere had a vision. Henry C. Hudson, a British expatriate who had formed his own firm in Bogota, Columbia, Latin America and Thomas McElveen, operating out of Miami, Florida, had crossed paths many times and had become friendly competitors. Most of Henry’s business, while it originated out of the London market, was in Latin America. Tom mostly covered the Caribbean and Central America, also predominantly for the London market.

They were “Property” specialists, and their vision was to enlist a world – wide group of their peers in the property field to join an organization which, when it was born, they entitled the “International Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, Inc.” They reached out and found prospective members in Peru, Argentina and Guatemala in Latin and Central America, and U.S. adjusters from Oklahoma, Ohio, South Carolina, Washington, Florida, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, North Carolina and Tennessee. Europe contributed members in London and Antwerp. There were 27 charter members in all.

The meeting that year started in Miami, Florida on May 16th and continued on to London. Unfortunately, there were no early records available relating to this
conference program. 1969 saw the election of the late John T Sewell as President. Again, no official records are available relating to this year, but we do know that the annual meeting was held again in London. It also saw the creation of the initial Institute logo which was used for several years.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY

The first “Annual Conference” was held at the Hilton/Statler Hotel in New York City on May 21 – 25, 1967. Tom McElveen officiated as President, with Institute business being conducted on the first day, and the balance of the week devoted to education. Some of the topics on the agenda were New Policy Changes, New Court Decisions and a presentation by representatives of salvage and cleaning contracting firms. The main topic was “Reduction of Losses by Modern Methods”. Company claim executives were invited to open sessions and some very highly respected property loss Managers and Vice Presidents were present.

The following year,1968, with Henry Hudson as President, saw the production of the first and second issues of the “Roster”, combining the updated member lists together with some pleasant thoughts and distributed on a regular basis to our many patrons and friends in the property insurance business.

The first directory described the aims and purposes for which the organization was founded and were listed as follows:

To promote individual cordial business relations among the leading loss
adjusters devoting their profession to the adjustment of property insurance losses;
To exchange ideas and information concerning matters of interest,
To develop and maintain a code of ethics that will promote the general welfare of the companies and underwriters represented,
To co operate with the claim officials in a manner that will enable meritorious claims to be paid promptly,
To assist to the fullest extent to defeat the payment of fraudulent claims and to assist in the exposure of dishonest, unscrupulous and unethical practices by either laymen or professional individuals,
To agree that any matter discussed at any meeting of the Institute, committee meetings and correspondence pertaining to the Institute shall be held confidential unless otherwise agreed.

The Roster Chairman that year was the late Hap Hardies, with the President listed as Tom McElveen in the first issue and Henry Hudson. Unfortunately, these members are no longer with us, but certainly not forgotten by those who were fortunate enough to know them.

We did find a letter from Tom McElveen to John Sewell relating to the significance of this insignia which is worthwhile quoting today:

“The center of the map of the world signifies the scope of our coverage. The scales of justice at the top has a universal meaning of justice to all. The pen and ink, our trademark of reporting all facts, and the Latin word at the bottom of integrity is a noble word for us to abide by. The shield, of course, denotes our defense against wrong and enables us to forge forward to the right, and within an organization united and protected by a common shield, we shall let nothing deter us in upholding justice with integrity and with the pen and ink report the truth as we uncover it, and all of this on a world – wide basis”.

The 1970 conference was a memorable one for this writer, as it was our first. It was held at the Inn on the Park Hotel in London during the first week of November. Bill Coppock was elected President. Those of us who knew Bill have fond memories of his dedication to the Institute and furtherance of education, especially in the area of combating arson. Unfortunately, this year’s records are also missing. We are unable to more fully describe the events of the meeting, except that we did find a list of guests (170) who attended our cocktail reception at the Wheelton Room on November 5th.

1971 brought a new slate of officers with Steve Scibal as President and the annual meeting held in two phases. The first in Chicago at the Pick Congress Hotel on October 14th and the second in London at the International Hotel on October 19th.Our current logo was produced and adapted this year through the efforts of Bob
Miles. Bob was kind enough to donate the original design to the Institute when he retired in 1986.

1972 saw the election of Harvey Jones from Hanover, Germany as President during the meeting held in the first week of October at the Inn on the Park in London. The Membership Chairman at that time reported we had 39 full members as of 1970, and 71 members as of 1972. During this year, we also learned that members Jock Southerland and Peter Brocklehurst were unable to continue their membership due to a conflict of interest with the British Institute. They both agreed, however, that they would act as liaisons to the market for the IILA. Harvey Jones convened an executive meeting for the morning of October 4th, at which time all of the officers and committee members at the conference were present, except for Harvey. He never showed up and disappeared, not to be heard from until Heinz Mueschen from Santiago, who had been elected President Elect, found him in Germany after many months of searching. Heinz was able to recover the Institute’s banner which Harvey had brought back with him after the London meeting. It was at that time that Heinz assumed the Presidency and he served through 1974.

1973 produced three meetings. A special meeting was held on March 2nd in Corpus Christi, Texas with the main topic being the disappearance of Harvey Jones and the formal election of Heinz Mueschen as President. The second was a mid – year meeting held from April 23rd to 25th at the Hotel Alamedia in Mexico City. By this time, the membership had grown to 92 full members, and a permanent
location for the office of the IILA was established at the Chicago headquarters of the Nation al Association of Independent Adjusters. Program speakers included members from Central and Latin America and the topics were claim adjustments in both areas, subrogation and earthquake U&O insurance. The third (annual) meeting was held at the Montcalm Hotel in London commencing on November 7th, and while there are no records of the program for that meeting, the scheduled speakers were members Jerry Pyszka and Victor Acra.

1974 brought us to Atlanta, Georgia with George Edmund presiding as President. The meeting was held on October 20th – 24th at the Hyatt Regency and the theme of the conference was “A Salute to Canada”, with our Canadian members Kirk MacDonald, Len Croth, Fred Maltman and Doug Scrivener as featured speakers.Other presenters were guests John Snyder, whose topic was salvage and Patrick
Collins from the Insurance Crime Prevention Bureau, who spoke to us about arson and property crimes throughout the world.

1975 welcomed Mike Keenan, Jim Laird, Don Johns, Steve Hastings and Jimmy Edward s (amongst others) as new members. The annual meeting was held on November 9th – 13th at the Caracas Hilton in Venezuela with Jose M. Barcelo from Venezuela being elected President.The featured speaker was our own Dan Leahy whose topic was comparing conditions of foreign policies with reference to Venezuelan policies related to the process of adjustments. Other topics were presented by various Latin American dignitaries and members.

The 1976 conference was held at the Hyde Park Hotel in London on October llth – 14th. The seminar this year was entitled “Adjusting Insurance Losses Around the World” with the panelists being from Malaysia, U.S., Western Australia and Canada. This seminar was held at the Plantation House. Lloyds brokers and underwriters were invited and a reception followed. Most notable that year was the election of the late and lovable James MacPherson as President.

1977 saw the election of Bob Miles as President at the annual meeting which was held on October 3rd – 6th, again, at the Hyde Park Hotel in London. The usual cocktail reception was held for Lloyds brokers and underwriters, and the same type of seminar as was held in 1976 was held at the Institute of Marine Engineers Conference Center in London. Speakers from various London brokerage house s and syndicates were well received.

The 1978 conference was held in beautiful downtown Montreal at the Ritz Carlton Hotel and commenced on October 2nd. Featured speakers that year were Doug Morris and several Canadian attorneys. The real treat was a tour of the Province of Quebec’s forensic laboratories which was enjoyed by all the members present. Jim Laird was elected President that year.

1979 brought us to the Stanford Court Hotel in San Francisco on September 23rd – 27th. This writer, Ed Reilly, was elected President for the following year at this meeting and the program included presentations by the late Phil Froude from the Jansen Green syndicate at Lloyds, a demonstration of the psychological stress evaluator, an address by Jim Hearn, President of the Insurance Crime Prevention Institute, who spoke about the fight against arson, a talk on the adjustment of off – shore oil rig losses by Bruce Bateman from London and a dynamite presentation by Dr. Neal Frank of the
United States National Weather Services in connection with hurricanes and there affect on lives and property in shore line areas. We might have set a record for attendance this year, as 92 members and wives were registered for this convention.

1980 saw the election of John Townson as President. The meeting commenced on September 28th at the Castle Harbour Hotel in Bermuda and 101 members and guests were registered.Speakers at this conference included Gloria Jiminez, Federal Insurance Administrator, John Curtis from Prescott Underwriting & Management, A.M. Bud Brown of Universal Reinsurance, Dennis Darling, Lloyds underwriter and Haddon Frazer.

In 1981 we elected Karl Buschmann President, and the annual meeting was held on September 13th at Ceasar’s Palace in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Featured speakers were John Snyder who spoke on the salvors role in commercial losses, Paul Golding who spoke on the recovery of a 747 in Anchorage, Alaska and a panel discussion on catastrophe losses with Ed Hermanson from American Insurance Association, Larry Spangler from the National Flood Insurance Program and John Wrend from the
Property Loss Research Bureau as participants. Sadly, this year also saw the death of past president John Sewell. 103 members, wives and guests were in attendance at this meeting, a new record.

1982 saw the election of Pat Spilstead as President, and the meeting this year was held on September 8th – 12th at the fabulous Jasper Park Lodge, Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada. The theme of this meeting was “Today’s Preparation for Tomorrow’s Needs”, and stress management workshops were conducted throughout the meeting. We had 86 members, guests and wives in attendance.

In 1983 we elected Walter Kuhn from Guatemala as President at the meeting, which was held in Fiji at the Regent Hotel on October 3rd – 7th. This meeting was unique in that it was held in conjunction with a “Pacific Loss Adjusters” convention hosted by the Institute of Loss Adjusters of New Zealand, Inc. The participants were members of the Canadian Independent Adjusters conference, Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (Australasia Division), Chilean Independent Adjusters Association, Loss Adjusters Institutes of Australia as well as Africa. The theme was “The Adjuster’s Response to Large Scale Disasters”. About 180 people attended. Speakers’ topics included the reinsurers aspect/response to disasters, restoration of contaminated buildings after a fire, salvage after a disaster and recovery efforts in an airplane crash. We have included Dave O’Keefe’s very informative newsletter in the Memories section for further details relating to this conference.

The 1984 convention was held in Cartegena, Columbia during the first week of October, where the “Godfather”, Guy Panarello was elected President. The Hilton Hotel was the facility, and Heinz Mueschen and Dan Leahy led the program. Topics presented by local speakers included the role of adjusters in terrorism, kidnapping and rescue, losses due to computer misuse and fraud and losses greater risks resulting from stress. While 24 full members were present for the business meeting, we have no records of attendance by spouses or other guests.

1985′s conference was a double – header. The first experience was in Munich, Germany at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel from October 2nd to the 5th, and the second was in London at the Kensington Close Hotel from the 6th to the 9th. Chairman Don Johns, assisted by Len and Wally Croth, organized a program which was both educational and entertaining.A tour of Munich Re’s headquarters was arranged where the delegates were served lunch followed by a presentation relating to underwriting problems which affect large losses in the reinsurance market. of course, and quite coincidentally, Octoberfest was in full swing during this visit.The London part of the meeting was attended by almost 125 members, wives and guests and saw the coronation/election of Dennis Leonard as President. A panel of distinguished underwriters and brokers presented a seminar on the London market, both from the underwriting and claim sides. Another panel dealt with crime in the world of fine arts. Unfortunately, this year also saw the passing of Tom McElveen
who died on October 27th.

1986 found us in Florida at the Key Biscayne Hotel & Villas from October 12th – 17th. Carl Rank was elected President and the program presenters included a psychologist as well as Dr. Neal Frank of the National Hurricane Center. A crime seminar was also conducted. 45 members attended and several revisions were made to he constitution and by – laws. Bob miles donated the original design of the logo.

1987 produced the election of Ron MacDonald as President at our return to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Montreal during the week of September 13th. Some of the program topics included loss adjusting in the 21st century and a presentation on electronic crime presented by Inspector Ian H. Ross of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Membership by this time was up to 145, with 102 from the USA and 43 from other nations. 93 members, wives and guests attended this meeting. It was also the year that we lost Jim MacPherson who had died in August.

The 1988 conference was held in the glorious Hawaiian islands at the Kona Surf Resort on the Big Island. During.the week of October 9th, we saw the election of Edgard Lizarralde of Bogota, Columbia as President and a dynamite program which was highlighted by a presentation by Cigna Worldwide Vice President, John Stel on special problems with insurance claims abroad as relates to independent adjusters past, present and future as well as a bad faith session led by local attorney, Clyde Matsui. Also special was a talk and films on volcanos including potential claims dealing therewith. This year also saw the passing of three of our outstanding members, Jose Barcelo of Caracas on June 15th, Joe Moss of Nashville on May 24th and President Emeritus Bill Coppock who left us at the age of 72 on December 6th. All of them are sorely missed.

The 1989 conference was held at the Melia Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella, Costa Del Sol, Spain during the week of October 8th. Don Bird was elected President and the program speakers were Doug Morris whose presentation related to structured settlements and C.H. McGee who addressed the issue of insurance emergency service.

In keeping with a Spanish theme and out of consideration for our Latin American members, the 1990 meeting was held at the Serra Mar Hotel in Puerto Rico during the week of October 17th. Steve Hastings was elected President and served as the principal speaker on the program for the presentation on midwest tornados.Our own Jerry Daly offered advice on marketing techniques and Atlantic City attorney M. Barker gave us a legal insight into large property related losses.

Latin America beckoned in 1991 and the conference, arranged by Heinz Mueschen, took place during the week of October 27th at the Hotel Miramar in Vina Del Mar, Chile. Steve Hastings volunteered and was re – elected President, and a very interesting program was presented with topics being the Mexico City earthquake presented by member Ricardo Roca, the San Francisco (Loma Prieta) earthquake of 1989 which was presented by Dan Leahy, damage by pollution caused by crude oil leakage by tankers at sea which was presented by guest speaker Eugenio Cornejo, the Abutsford land slip disaster in New Zealand presented by Don Bird, catastrophic loss: evaluation methods which was presented by member Rudolfo Schmidt and, last but not least, another dynamite presentation by Dan Leahy relating to the Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines.

1992 brought us to far away Singapore, the most modern city in the Orient, at the Marina Madarin Hotel during the week of October 26th. Convention Chairman Don Bird and Deputy Chairman Bill Kuegler arranged for fabulous pre and post convention tours of the Far East as well as a dynamic program. Gil Malmgren’s talk was entitled “California, The Land of Disasters”.Trevor Sinclair regaled the delegates with his speech on loss adjusting in the Australian bush. Steve Hastings discussed the great Chicago tunnel breech and Klaus Gassner described the changed situation in the insurance market in Europe and its effect on loss adjusting. The president of the CILA gave a talk on his institute and Toronto attorney, and good institute friend, Larry Gilbert son talked about the property loss adjuster’s investigation, reporting and file preparation for reference to legal counsel. Doug Holmes was elected President.

Alfred Landivar from Santiago, Chile was elected President at the 1993 annual meeting which was held during the week of October 10th at the Steingenberger Quellenhof Hotel & Spa located in Aachen, Germany. This was another great convention which was hosted by Chairman Klaus Gassner. The program presentations were recorded and simultaneously interpreted in German, English and Spanish. Local experts discussed fire damages and fire prevention measures, product liability in Germany, EDP programs for loss adjusters and talks by this writer in connection with the World Trade Center disaster and Klaus’ presentation on inland marine risks on a world – wide basis. 89 members, wives and – guests attended this meeting and most of them enjoyed a pre – convention tour on the Rhine River. This was quite a memorable convention.

The year 1994 brought us to the historical city of Halifax, Nova Scotia during the week of September 25th. Klaus Gassner was elected President and convention Co – Chairmen Lee Stewart and Doug Holmes arranged for speakers, with topics relating to claims arising from hybernia oil patch and related oil rig losses, North Atlantic aquaculture, reprise on the World Trade Center bombing and, to top it off, a marvelous presentation by Gil Malmgren and his daughter Kearson on the string of earthquakes, fires, floods and mudslides to hit California in recent years.

The 1995 meeting was held in California’s famous Marin County at the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Rafael. Chairpersons were Gil and Sheila Malmgren who arranged an outstanding program with the topics including disaster preparedness and relocation, coverage decisions – analysis and action during disasters, adjusting in the cutback (by the fabulous Junita Sinclair), insurers update on disaster response and claim control, earthquake engineering reality meets insurance company expectations, photo surveillance in claim investigations, reinsurance perspective: where we are headed, insurance fraud – detecting and defense and, finally, good faith claims handling: a day in the life of a bad faith trail. Richard (Dick) Polacek from the USA was elected President.

1996 Bill Kuegler and Don Bird from New Zealand hosted the Convention in that country’s beautiful South Island city of Queenstown and indeed Bill was installed as President. The Holiday Inn hosted the Convention and for some of our sessions we were joined by the local Institute of Loss Adjusters of New Zealand.Ed Reilly gave one of his brilliant talks on a major disaster, Paul Harrison and Ted Wheeler made the Members work on an Australian hypothetical and there was a presentation by the New Zealand Earthquake and War Damage Commission.The Gala Dinner included an unforgettable cable car trip to the mountain top.

1997 saw us travel to the beautiful island of Bermuda where “Skip” Sutherland from Canada was installed as President. The Convention was held at Southampton Princess Hotel and presentations were given by Italian member Simone Berchiolli, Timothy Reilly of Marsh & McLennan New York, Harold “Bud” Sofield of General Reinsurance Corp Stamford, CT, Donald Carlson of Long & Levit San Francisco, Paul Lowry of Woodbourne Associates Bermuda, Jeffrey Elkinson of Chartered Institute of Architects Bermuda and Canadian member Glen Gibson.There was still time to enjoy the sights and the highlight of the Convention was undoubtedly the “Bermuda shorts” competition where the ladies exercised their preferences by inserting bank notes in the men’s long socks. This writer still proudly possesses the halves of two dollar notes.

1998 two Italian members, Simone Berchiolli and Paolo Rossi, hosted us in Montecatini in Tuscany. It was a wonderful Convention, including day trips to Florence and Pisa and topped by an unexpected operatic performance by two tenors and a baritone which will long live in the memories of those in attendance. The educational meetings were conducted with members wearing head phones and the presence of interpreters. Jim Michalek was installed as President.

1999 saw our Convention travel for the first time to the Middle East, Walid Jishi hosting us in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Convention being held at Le Meridien Resort.Twenty six Members attended along with forty guests from the Insurance and Reinsurance circles as well as service providers, many of whom provided sponsorship. There were Pre-and Post-Convention trips including Egypt (Cairo – viewings of the pyramids and the sphinx and a Nile cruise including the Valley of the Kings), Jordan (Amman and Petra).Trevor Sinclair from Adelaide became IILA’s first President from Australia.

2000 had the Convention at Renaissance Madison Hotel in Seattle, Washington, USA, preceded by a Pre-Convention cruise through the inside passage in Alaska, members embarking in Seattle and disembarking in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for a bus trip back to Seattle.There were presentations from Engineer Joe Bozick and Attorney Douglas Houser, with delegates and partners treated to a day trip, to Victoria island, Canada, including a high tea and the Butchart Gardens.Lee Stewart from Nova Scotia, Canada, became President.

The 2001 Convention was held in late September at Outrigger Hotel in Wailea, Maui, Hawaii, USA, starting less than two weeks after the dreadful events of September 9^th. As can be expected there were many cancellations, including that of the incoming President, Walid Jishi, who was unable to obtain a visa to visit USA, but those in attendance had a wonderful trip.There were presentations from Robert Lees, Robin Campaniano and members Bill Ballard and Lee Stewart.

2002 member Andrei Shulgin hosted the Convention in Russia, with a Pre-Convention tour of Moscow followed by the Convention itself in St Petersburg. Sites such as Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow and the Winter and Summer palaces in St Petersburg remain as lifetime memories.Bill Ballard from Washington State, USA became our new President.

2003 saw our first Convention in Australia. Members Paul Harrison and Ted Wheeler (this writer) organised a Pre-Convention tour of Sydney taking in the northern beaches, the Blue Mountains and of course the Opera House and a Harbour Bridge climb.Trevor Sinclair from Adelaide organised the Convention in that city, the capital of South Australia, and he provided an agenda of local speakers on a range of topics, including notable practitioners in various disciplines of law and engineering, including the Coroner (now Judge) Wayne Chivel. Judge Peter Herriman gave a light-hearted paper covering some legal “bloopers” committed by Lawyers.A visit was made to the Barossa Valley wine region whilst there was also a day trip to the Fleurieu Peninsula with its quaint villages and seaports and pristine beaches.Bill Seaman from Ontario, Canada was installed as President.

2004 Bill Seaman organised the 2004 Convention in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with a few members taking advantage of a Pre-Convention train trip through the Rockies.Our featured speaker was Bob Wedoff of LWG Consulting who presented his topic of Solving the Warranty Dilemma of High Tech Equipment. Other presenters were Kerry Eaton who spoke on Class Actions in Canada and Bob Krywiak speaking on the Adjustment of Catastrophic Losses. Highlights of the Convention included a tour of Grouse Mountain, the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and a day trip to Whistler Mountain.Ted Wheeler from Sydney, Australia became our new President.

2005 saw our first Convention in Innsbruck, Austria (we went there again in 2014) this being hosted by incoming President Peter Gaudenzi. The 2005 Convention started in Vienna with the Pre-Convention tour. Together we made our way in a bus through the wine country via Salzburg and the Großglockner to Innsbruck.Speakers about news on wood and timber, broker difficulties and a visit in Munich at Munich Re followed by a stop at the Octoberfest were the highlights of the Innsbruck Convention.

2006 The 2006 Convention was scheduled to be held in Phuket, Thailand after Pre-Convention activities in Bangkok and plans were well advanced when it became necessary to cancel the Convention. Peter Gaudenzi agreed to stay on as President.

2007 The IILA held its AGM and Conference in Music City USA, Nashville, Tennessee, hosted by Tom Moss. A pre-conference was held in Alexandria, Virginia, and attendees were delighted to be in the presence of all the monuments and buildings of the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. Thomas Jefferson’s home in Mount Vernon was also visited by all.The Conference in Nashville was held at the Loew’s Vanderbilt Plaza close to Vanderbilt University. Two bus tours were provided: one to Historic Franklin, Tennessee for Civil War stories and memories, and one to the Jack Daniels Distillery for trying to forget some memories. Miss Mary Bobo’s nearby was a down-south lunch enjoyed by all. One evening many persons went on the optional trip to the original Grand Ol Opry house for an awesome evening of live bluegrass music.The Education portion of the Conference was led off by Mr. Simon White, Head of Claims at the Heritage Syndicate in Lloyd’s of London. Mr. Gordon Lahti, Vice President of Swiss RE gave a speech on claims authority levels and our own Paul May, Chairman of Concordia Consultancy, London, England gave a talk on international adjusters. Following the AGM where Stewart Ponton from Ontario, Canada, was installed at the new President, a final Reception and Banquet was held at the Country Music Hall of Fame where everyone was treated following dinner to a Songwriter’s Night presentation by local songwriters.

The 2008 Convention was held at the Sheridan hotel in Montreal Quebec Canada. The hotel is located in the very heart of the city and steps away from a fabulous shopping district and exciting nightlife. Montreal is Canada’s second largest city and one of the oldest cities in North America.A two day bus trip was arranged to tour eastern Quebec and included the Quebec City which was celebrating it’s 400 year anniversary. After touring Quebec City the group proceeded to the town Charlevoix with overnight lodging at the Petit Manoir Casino. The following day attendes travelled to Tadoussac, Quebec for a whale watching tour before returning to Montreal. Tom Moss from Nashville, Tennessee, USA was installed as President.

2009 involved IILA’s first trip to South America since 1991. Past President Alfredo Landivar arranged Pre-Convention activities in Chile whilst the Convention itself was held at the Swiss Hotel in Lima, Peru, hosted by member Alfieri Peirano. We were addressed by the President of the Peruvian Broker Association, Mr Alfredo Allemant, who discussed Latin American issues and peculiarities of the Regional Latin Market.Whilst is Lima members visited the Historic City Centre, the Magical Circuit of Water, and the Gold Museum whilst following the Convention many went to Cusco and to fabulous Machu Pichu, and unforgettable wonder. Brent Demnar from Brisbane, Australia, was installed as President.

2010 Brent Demnar and Ted Wheeler from Australia arranged the 2010 Convention in Singapore, this including a one day International Federation of Adjusting Associations (IFAA) educational meeting organised by UK member Paul May. Activities in Singapore included lunch at the Singapore Cricket Club hosted by local member Bob Neo. Michael Hale from California, USA, became our new President. There was a Post-Convention tour to Vietnam (Hannoi and Halong Bay) and Cambodia (Siem Reap) which was partaken by many members and their spouses/partners.

2011 had many going to Fiji for a Pre-Convention Tour with the Convention itself returning to Queenstown in New Zealand, hosted by Bill Kuegler. The Convention was at the same hotel as that for 1996 although the name had changed to Mecure. There was a significant in-house IILA debate on the future of IILA. The social activities included a 7-course luncheon at Amisfield Winery, a boat trip to a sheep shearing and sheepdog handling exhibition. Fred Plant from New Brunswick, Canada, became President.

The 2012 Convention was hosted by President Fred Plant and was held at Boston Copley Marriott Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, following a few days at the Omni Mount Washington Resort at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire.The programme included visits to Salem’s Witch Museum and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and on one evening participants enjoyed a Boston Ghost Tour. At the end of the Convention Walid Jishi was again appointed President.

Turkey was the intended location for the 2013 Convention but had to be cancelled so Past President Walid Jishi, at short notice, arranged for Dubai, UAE to once again host the Convention.The location was the fabulous Fairmont the Palm, Dubai and there was Post-Convention trip to the Sultanate of Oman. Like his father, Johnny Michalek from Texas, USA was installed as President.

The 2014 Convention was held in Innsbruck and the village of Lermoos. 27 members and spouses attended this event. We started in Innsbruck with a visit to the largest tunneling project at this time in Europe, the Brenner Basis Tunnel. In Lermoos we stayed at the beautiful Hotel Post Lermoos, where we had our AGM and gala dinner. But before that we encountered a mountain breakfast at 1500m elevation right at the hunting hut. We even attended the highest Octoberfest at the Zugspitz elev. 3000m with an upfront presentation on site about the big fire there a couple of years before. At the top of the mountain members were able to walk between Austria and Germany. Jerry Hale from Connecticut, USA became our new President.

2015 President Jerry Hale himself hosted the 2015 Convention in San Diego, California, USA, followed by a Post-Convention trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. Attendees took an Old Town San Diego city tour and a lovely harbour dinner cruise and on one evening were entertained by Cirque du Soleil “O” at Bellagio Hotel. There was a morning of education, including an interesting presentation on different pipe materials in usage around the world and a very informative talk by a Lawyer discussing some aspects of policy wordings which gave attendees an insight into the different applications on a global basis. Nikolay Cheglakov was installed as President, our first President from Russia.