In a bid to help industry claims professionals with limited financial support gain valuable knowledge and continuing education, CLM Member Firm Callahan & Fusco, LLC is offering seven scholarships to industry professionals that will allow the winners to attend CLM’s premier educational event in March.
“I had lots of conversations with people in the insurance industry last year about attending CLM events, and a lot of people were telling me that they either didn’t have travel budgets, or that their budgets were cut back,” says Christopher Fusco, founding and managing partner at Callahan & Fusco. “So we thought, on our end, what could we do to help? That’s when we began working with CLM to establish the scholarships to help bridge that gap.”
Scholarships will be awarded to the most qualified individuals who meet all eligibility criteria and demonstrate a need. In addition to conference registration fees, each scholarship also includes a travel reimbursement of up to $1,000 for eligible expenses and hotel costs at the approved event hotel.
“I always appreciate the sessions a lot, but the thing I find most valuable about CLM’s annual conference is having a diverse group of industry professionals to exchange ideas with,” says Fusco. “When people can’t go because of budget and travel restrictions, it lessens that opportunity to learn from each other.”
Fusco says the ideal scholarship winner is someone who really wants to go but can’t for reasons outside of their control.
“The winners could be new to the industry, or they might be more experienced—it doesn’t matter to us from that aspect,” he says. “We just want to turn a person’s ‘I can’t’ into an ‘I can.’”
Fusco says he appreciated the collaboration with CLM in making the scholarships a reality.
“We’re happy to brainstorm with CLM to come up with a solution to a very real problem, and I appreciate the steps CLM has taken to make the program a success,” he says.
To apply, go to theclm.org/CLMScholarship. The application period ends Feb. 15, 2022, and scholarship winners will be notified on Feb. 23, 2022, with detailed registration and travel expense claim information. For any additional questions, email clmscholarship@theclm.org.