1st Insurance Medicine Congress of Central and Eastern European Countries

1st Insurance Medicine Congress of Central and Eastern European Countries took place on 1-2 June 2001.

The Congress was organised by Hungarian Society of Life Insurance Medicine (MEBOT) and Polish Association of Insurance Medicine (PAIM), under the auspices of International Committee for Life Disability and Health Assurance Medicine (ICLAM). The conference was held in a beautifully located village Balatonaliga close to Balaton. There were over 100 participants, who mainly came from Hungary and Poland, but there were also delegates from Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Croatia and Kazakhstan. The two-day conference comprised lectures on life and health insurance. The lecturers included internationally recognised experts on insurance medicine such as Dr R. Gill, Dr S. Akermann, Dr W. Munda. Polish delegates presented 3 lectures.

One of the most significant achievement of the Congress was establishment, on PAIM's initiative, of Central and Eastern Europe Committee for Life Disability and Health Assurance Medicine (CEECLAM). Preliminary guidelines of the organisation were presented during the first session of the committee. The major aim of the committee is co-operation, exchange of experience and knowledge among insurance medicine doctors from Central and Eastern European countries. On behalf of the organisation Dr R. Gill, president of ICLAM, expressed substantial and organisational support for the initiative.

Professor J. Feher, the president of MEBOT and the host of the Congress was appointed the chairman of the new organisation. PAIM's proposition to arrange the next meeting in autumn 2002 in Poland was accepted. PAIM will be responsible for organisation of the conference in 2002. Dr K. Grzyliński was appointed the chairman of the Conference's organisational committee and he was elected the chairman of CEECLAM for the next term, Dr Z. Guzel was elected secretary.

We are convinced that the new organisation will fulfil the expectations of doctors working in our region to strive to develop insurance medicine. The committee will also contribute to propagating reliable knowledge as well as helping doctors who start work in this particular field on new markets in Central and Eastern European countries.