The Asia-Pacific Risk and Insurance Association (APRIA) invites you to propose a paper for consideration for the program at its 13th annual conference in Beijing, China. China Center for Insurance and Social Security Research, Peking University (CCISSR) is the host of the conference. The Association welcomes theoretical or applied research papers on risk or insurance topics, including insurance law and regulation/supervision, insurance economics and finance, insurance practice and policy, social insurance, employee benefits, pensions, risk management, financial planning, international insurance issues and insurance education.

The deadline for proposal submission is 13 February 2009.

Your proposal should be in the proposal submission format given below, and must include [1] a cover page containing the proposal title and the contact information of the author (name, affiliation, title, position or student status, postal address, e-mail address and phone/fax number) and [2] a full paper or a minimum 500-word proposal covering the purpose and importance of the research, research methodology and expected results. The proposal/paper in PDF format should be submitted through the following website:

http://cba.ua.edu/apria

Instructions:   · Click on “submit a paper”   · Complete the information called for (first name, last name, paper title)   · Click on “Browse” and it should take you to your “Documents” file. Select the proposal you wish to submit and click. It will be entered into your message.   · Click on “Submit Paper” and your message will be sent to the Program Committee’s file.

If your paper is not already in PDF format, please convert it with tools such as Doc2PDF or PrimoPDF.

The Committee encourages electronic submission of proposals. All proposal submissions will be subject to double blind review and successful proposals notified by around 30 March 2009.

Full Paper Deadline. Papers for those whose proposals are accepted must submit the full paper in MS Word or PDF format by 1 June 2009 to the Program Committee Chair to be included in the conference proceedings. Only full papers submitted by the deadline will be included in the proceedings. Authors of accepted papers are required to present their papers at the conference.

Junior Scholar Awards. The Association, with the financial support from the conference organizers, plans to provide limited financial aid to selected junior authors whose papers are selected for the program. The full award information will soon be available at the Association’s webpage. The number and amount of awards will depend on the funds available. Those who are eligible for consideration will be WITHIN THREE YEARS FROM HAVING RECEIVED A DOCTORAL DEGREE OR CURRENTLY A DOCTORAL DEGREE CANDIDATE, AND RECEIVE “no” financial support from their universities, government or other entities. The AWARD assists the recipients with meeting the conference registration fee (excluding APRIA membership fee) and accommodation expenses on twin-sharing basis for four nights. The AWARD does not cover travel AND OTHER expenses. Applicants for the aid must indicate their desire to apply for the aid and e-mail the Program Committee Chair [1] a full paper or a detailed proposal meeting the above proposal submission requirements, and [2] their curricular vitae, by the proposal deadline.

Harold Skipper Best Paper Award for Global Insurance. Applicants for this Best Paper Award must submit completed papers by 1 June 2009. Award winner(s) will be announced at the conference. Depending on the number and quality of papers, the Program Committee may consider a separate Best Paper Award for doctoral research students.

If you have questions about the process, please e-mail: Bill Rabel, Univ. of Alabama, wrabel@cba.ua.edu