CANADIAN CONFERENCE ATTRACTS 350 ATTENDEES

CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island-It was a hot news week in a small Canadian province during the 7th Canadian Insurance Congress.

About 350 attendees were on Prince Edward Island for the May 25-27 conference and found local headlines centering on two major events: The opening of a new bridge that would link the island with the rest of Canada and a fire that damaged the Anne of Green Gables House, the area's largest tourist attraction.

The controversial link to New Brunswick was opened a few days after the conference ended, and tourism officials have vowed to quickly restore the historic home of Lucy Maud Montgomery's fictional character.

Insurance experts from across the globe attended the conference, which covered topics that included an outlook for the Canadian insurance industry for 1997, reinsurance trends, regulatory directions and best practices among insurers.

Next year's congress will be held May 2-6, 1998, at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia. Information is available from Hilary Farrugia at Canadian Insurance Consultants Inc., 133 Richmond St. West, Suite 600, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2L3; 416-363-6103; fax: 416-363-7454.