That statement perplexed Eric A. Wiening, CPCU, who was the speaker at the April 15, 1999 CPCU Breakfast Meeting. Mr. Wiening is Assistant Vice President and Ethics Counsel for the American Institute for CPCU, Insurance Institute of America and Insurance Institute for Applied Ethics. He recounted a story in which he paid the admission fee at the end of an event, because it had not been collected upon his arrival. Being thanked for his honesty left him with the lingering question, "How else am I supposed to be?"

Simply put, ethical behavior requires that "everybody ought to do what’s right." That sounds very easy, but it proved to be more complex when applied to different scenarios. Mr. Wiening employed a "case study approach" to present the topic of ethics, using thought-provoking scenarios for debate and discussion. Small groups were formed to discuss the scenarios and decide what would have been the right thing to do in each case. Oftentimes doing the right thing was complicated by obstacles, such as the prospect of making a public admission of error, or ignorance (i.e., of insurance statutes).

As Ethics Counsel, Mr. Wiening is charged with enforcing the Code of Professional Ethics of the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters. Along with enforcing the Code by investigating alleged breaches of ethics and taking disciplinary measures when necessary, he also provides ethics education so that a breach of ethics may be avoided in the first place. Therefore, as a review, copies of the Canons of the Code of Professional Ethics were provided to everyone. The case studies were then related back to the Canons, thus providing illustrative examples of their application.

President: Peter F. Palestina, CPCU

First Vice President: Val Ullman Katz, CPCU

Second Vice President: Anne E. Myhr, CPCU

Secretary: Clint Gillespie, CPCU

Treasurer: Richard J. Lee, CPCU

Director 2 year term: Josephine Battisti, CPCU

Director 2 year term: Kathleen Frenzel, CPCU

Director 2 year term: Arthur C. Hanebury, CPCU