Your Guide to Elevate Work Comp Conference 2026

Elevate returns to the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego September 21 through 23, 2026. It is a bigger foot print than past years, and a few things about the format are worth knowing before you pack. Here is the short version first, with the reasoning behind each item below it.
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Before you go: the checklist

• Confirm your hotel booking now. The Hotel del Coronadoroom block for Elevate fills up well ahead of the event, and once it is gone, the closest overflow option is a longer walk from the venue.
• Register early if you have not, and note thecancellation and substitution terms in case your plans change.
• Pull up the agenda and mark your must-attend sessions before the event, not during it. Elevate runs multiple tracks at once, including Legal/Med-Legal, Leadership Lab, and Risk & Resilience Theater, so overlapping sessions are worth deciding on ahead of time.
•  If you want pre-conference education, plan for it. Elevate has run half-day workshops on Monday morning before the main sessionsstart, on topics like Medicare Secondary Payer compliance.
• Block time for the standalone networking events on theschedule. A couple of them run early morning or evening, outside the normalsession blocks, so they are easy to miss if you have not planned for them.
•  Make a short list of who you want to talk to in theexhibit hall, by name or by problem, rather than deciding once you are standingin it.
• If there is a specific vendor or partner conversation worth having, EAMS filing, records retrieval, medical records review, ask tout fifteen or twenty minutes on the calendar before the event rather than hoping to catch them between sessions.

Why the exhibit hall works differently this year

Elevate 2026 is housed insidethe Founders Hall Event Complex, a dedicated two-story space built specificallyfor the conference rather than a hallway of booths off to the side. Attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors are not separated into different areas. The layout isbuilt for traffic and conversation, which means the exhibit hall is less of awalk-through and more of a working part of the three days.‍

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Know the track structure before the agenda goes live in full

Elevate organizes itsprogramming around several tracks running in parallel, including Legal/Med-Legalsessions, a Leadership Lab, and a Risk & Resilience Theater. Because theserun at the same time, the sessions most relevant to your role, whether that isdefense or applicant-side legal work, claims handling, risk, or HR, are worthflagging on the agenda in advance rather than choosing in the moment.

Pre-conference time is worth planning for separately

Elevate has offered pre-coeducation on the Monday before the main event opens, including workshop-style sessions on regulatory topics that affect claims handling. If a topic like thatis relevant to your work, it is worth checking the agenda for a Monday morning slot before it fills up, since it runs separately from the main three-day schedule.

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The networking events are worth building into your schedule

Elevate opens with a key note from an Olympic athlete on performing under pressure, a fitting kickoff for three days built around a packed agenda. Beyond the sessions, the scheduleincludes a set of standalone networking events: an early morning gathering built around reflection and connection, an evening recognition event honoring emerging and established leaders in the industry, and a karaoke night thatdoubles as a charity fundraiser. None of these run during normal session hours, so they are easy to miss if you have not already blocked the time. If connecting with people matters more to you than another breakout session, these are usually where that actually happens.

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A few logistics that are easy to miss

Elevate negotiated a better hotel rate for attendees this year, including waiving the usual resort fee andbringing overnight self-parking down to a flat rate. Both of those are the kind of detail that is easy to overlook until you are checking out. It is also worth booking early: the room block at the Hotel del Coronado has historically sold out well before the event, with an overflow hotel nearby once it does.

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The conversations worth scheduling ahead of time

A short, focused conversation with the right person in the exhibit hall can save weeks of back and forth later in the year. If there is a specific workflow problem on your list, medical records retrieval, EAMS filing, or medical records review, this is the venue to raise it directly with people who deal with it every day. Reaching out before the conference to put time on the calendar is a better use of everyone's time than hoping to catch them between sessions.

EWORD Solutions is a Mentor Sponsor at Elevate 2026. If any part of your firm's or claims office's workflow around medical records retrieval, EAMS filing, or medical records review is worth a short conversation, see who from EWORD will be there and schedulea time.

Useful links

EWORD at Elevate 2026: https://www.ewordsolutions.com/elevate-conference-2026

Elevate 2026 home: https://elevateworkcomp.com/

Event agenda: https://elevateworkcomp.com/event-agenda/

Hotel del Coronado booking info: https://elevateworkcomp.com/hotel-del-coronado/

Speakers: https://elevateworkcomp.com/elevate-2026-speakers/