HORSHAM, Pa. - More than 1,000 attendees and 200 exhibitors will visit Lakeside Center at McCormick Place for the 12th annual National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference® & Exhibit, Nov. 19 through 20. And Chicago-area residents working in workers'-compensation or disability-related industries are invited to attend the exhibit — free.

Conference organizers Risk & Insurance® Magazine and LRP Publications are offering free passes to the exhibit hall. To reserve one, call 800-727-1227 or access www.WCConference.com, click on "Register," then click on "Exhibit Only."

Exhibitors include StrataCare, a bill-review software company; Specialty Risk Services, a firm that manages specialty-insurance programs; and Corvel, a provider of managed-care services. Other vendors will share details on their products and services relating to claims and disability management, ergonomic solutions, healthcare management, injury prevention, return-to-work services, safety products and programs, and vocational rehabilitation.

The paid-registration conference portion runs Nov. 19 through 21 and features speakers from insurance companies, consulting groups, law firms and other organizations discussing challenges and solutions on bioterroism, catastrophic loss, HIPAA, SARS, the nation's aging workforce, increased fraud, and more. Highlights include:

• Keynotes by Richard Pimentel, Senior Partner, Milt Wright & Associates, Chatsworth, Calif.; and Richard Palczynski, Group Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary, The Hartford, Hartford, Conn.
  
  
• Risk & Insurance® Magazine's "Best Workers' Compensation and Disability Program" awards
  
  
• Sessions on workers' compensation and the ADA, employee absence programs, and coping with disgruntled employees

For more details on the 12th annual National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference® & Exhibit, Nov. 19 through 21, Lakeside Center at McCormick Place, call 800-727-1227 or visit www.WCConference.com.

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