Network name: Metropolitan Underwriting
Password: MUD2026!
Keynotes, panels and breakout conversations
2026 Agenda coming soon
Stay tuned for updates!
The conference
journey
Keynotes, panels and breakout conversations.
Sunday, January 25th
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Welcome Reception
Floor 4, Gershwin Foyer / Ballroom
Join us for our welcoming Cocktails and Mocktails reception to kick off the 54th Annual MUD Conference. Registration will also be open to grab those name badges!
Monday, January 26th
7:00 am – 8:15 am
Breakfast Reception and Registration
Breakfast: Floor 4, Gershwin Foyer / Ballroom
Registration: Floor 5, Majestic Foyer
Registration/Continental Breakfast
8:30 am – 8:45 am
Main Stage
Floor 5, Majestic Ballroom
President’s Welcome/Comments
Pamela Bergsten, Board President MUD Group
8:45 am – 9:45 am
Keynote Session
Main Stage: Floor 5, Majestic Ballroom
YOU GOTTA LAUGH: Seeing The Lighter Side Of Adversity And Uncertainty
Keynote Speaker Susan Stewart, Comedian/author/speaker, will kick off our day with some laughs and inspiration as she shares how using the “golden rule of comedy” can help us be resilient in challenging times.
9:45 am – 10:00 am
Networking Break
Floor 5, Majestic Foyer
10:00 am – 10:55 am
Main Stage
Floor 5, Majestic Ballroom
Unraveling Bipolar Disorder: Facts and Rumors – Join us for a fresh look at this challenging topic. This presentation will include the diagnostic criteria of bipolar disorder, comorbidities, prognosis and the Interpretation of prescriptions.
Dr. Tom Ashley, Chief Medical Director, emeritus at Gen Re
11:00 am – 11:55 am
Main Stage
Floor 5, Majestic Ballroom
Trust but Verify: The Underwriter’s Guide to Agent Fraud – Unfortunately, fraud is always going to exist in the insurance world and sometimes it is committed by those we trust to ensure more lives have life insurance coverage, our sales agents. In this session, our panelists will provide insights in how to detect agent fraud through tools and trends from not only an underwriting view, but from legal and specialized investigation view as well.
Val Munchez-van der Wagt, Chief Underwriter at VM Insurance Consulting
Angela Jordan, Chief Underwriter at Catholic Order of Foresters
Adria Pierce, Director of Financial Crimes Unit at Transamerica
Noon – 2:00 pm
Lunch on Your Own
2:00 pm – 2:55 pm
Breakout Option #1
Floor 5, Majestic 1
Beyond the Likes: Navigating the Financial Landscape of Influencers & Content Creators – Explore how influencers and content creators make money and what risks, financial and otherwise, they present from an underwriting perspective.
Dave Kanney, Chief Life Underwriter at Mass Mutual
2:00 pm – 2:55 pm
Breakout Option #2
Floor 5, Manhattan
Beyond the Data: Underwriting Judgment in Practice – In an era driven by data and automation, underwriting remains as much an art as it is a science. This session explores real-world case studies that highlight the critical role of professional judgment, where numbers alone couldn’t tell the full story. Discover how underwriters balance analytics, experience, and intuition to make sound, client-focused decisions in complex scenarios.
Tom Holden, Corporate Vice President, Insurance Solutions at New York Life
Chris Woolfolk, Underwriting Tech Lead at New York Life
2:00 pm – 2:55 pm
Breakout Option #3
Floor 5, Majestic 2
Belts and Suspenders: Don’t Get Caught with Your AUW ‘Guard’ Down – Ten+ years into accelerated underwriting transformation and the pace of change for the industry shows no signs of slowing. While AUW programs continue to evolve, this session focuses on the best practices for audits, cutting edge research into mortality impacts from evidence removal, and practical examples of tool belts and functional guardrails that we can use to monitor emerging AUW slippage.
Ehren Nagel, Head of Actuarial Innovation at PartnerRe
Denise Bates, Head of Life Underwriting at Guardian Life Insurance
3:00 pm – 3:55 pm
Repeat Break Out Sessions
Same as above
Repeat Sessions of Beyond the Likes, Beyond the Data or Belts and Suspenders
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Vendor Tables/Cocktails
Floor 4, Gershwin Foyer / Ballroom
Service Provider Showcase
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Carmine’s Dinner
Carmine’s Times Square 200 West 44th St NYC
Tuesday, January 27th
8:30 am – 9:25 am
Main Stage
Floor 5, Majestic Ballroom
AI in Underwriting: From Today’s Tools to Tomorrow’s Transformation – Artificial intelligence is no longer just a future concept; it has become a practical partner for many professions, including today’s underwriter. This session explores specific, real-world use cases showing how AI can streamline underwriting work using tools that are likely already available within your organization.
Dr. Jeff Heaton, Vice President of AI Innovation (Data Science) at RGA
9:30 am – 10:30 am
Main Stage
Floor 5, Majestic Ballroom
Choose Your Path: Understanding the Intersection Between Metabolic Health and Modern Disease Reversal –This presentation will offer a clear, engaging overview of metabolic and mitochondrial health, highlighting their central role in modern chronic disease. See practical, real-life examples of how to measure metabolic health, what disease reversal looks like both for individuals and across populations, and how targeted clinical interventions can improve outcomes, reverse chronic disease, and significantly lower cardiovascular risk.
Dr. Tro Kalayjian, Nationally Recognized Physician
10:30 am – 11:00 am
Networking Break
Floor 5, Majestic Foyer
11:00 am – 11:55 am
Breakout Option #1
Floor 5, Majestic 1
Morbidity & Longevity Crossover – As people are living longer, the need for longevity insurance is increasing, but is also crossing over into similar morbidity insurance. Come join these panelists to learn more about both insurances and how partnerships can be formed.
Erik Pickett, Actuary & Chief Content Officer at Club Vita
Erin McClintock, Sr Director of Underwriting Innovation at Nationwide Financial
11:00 am – 11:55 am
Breakout Option #2
Floor 5, Majestic 2
You ask Y? Health and Underwriting Issues in the Aging Male – Through the use of medical underwriting cases, issues encountered in older men will be discussed, including prostate cancer screening, active surveillance for prostate cancer, and the diagnosis and treatment of “Andropause” and Late-Onset Hypogonadism.
Brad Heltemes, Vice President and Medical Director of R&D, Munich Re
11:00 am – 11:55 am
Breakout Option #3
Floor 5, Manhattan
The Heart’s Story: How Echo Measurements Tell a Tale of Health and Disease – This presentation equips underwriters with essential echocardiogram measurements that distinguish healthy cardiac function from disease and how these measurements translate into visual patterns of heart flow. The session will help underwriters better grasp the physiological impact of cardiac abnormalities and offer practical tools for reviewing echocardiograms.
Melissa Arnold, Medical Director at Protective Life
Noon – 2:00 pm
Lunch on Your Own
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Main Stage
Floor 5, Majestic Ballroom
Sales: Friend or Foe to Underwriting? – In this fun filled discussion, our panelists will provide the behind the scenes (to underwriters that is), how sales start and progress before being seen by carrier underwriters.
Lori Walker, Vice President, Chief Underwriter at Highland Capital Brokerage
Byron Rasmusson, Vice President of Underwriting at Simplicity Group Holdings
Bryan Simmons, Head of Underwriting at Modern Life
Moderator: Jessica Caracofe, Director of Underwriting Innovation at MIB, Inc
3:00 pm- 3:15 pm
Conference Conclusion
Floor 5, Majestic Ballroom
Closing remarks by Pamela Bergsten, Board President MUD Group
