SO MANY CONFERENCES, SO LITTLE TIME AND BUDGET

The oversaturated insurance conference landscape; which to attend and how to maximize experience

Stephen Applebaum and Alan Demers

Our inbox has become inundated with solicitations to participate in a wide variety of North American insurance industry conference as attendees, presenters, moderators, and/or sponsors. We suspect yours has too.?

In addition to the increased number of conference and media production companies entering the fray – inexplicably mostly U.K. based – conference themes are increasingly more specialized (InsurTech, ClimateTech, Innovation, Data and Analytics, Sustainability, GenAI, Cyber etc.), all which account for this growth in events.

BACKGROUND??

When we entered the insurance industry decades ago the majority of conferences were long standing insurance association produced. There were very few others that were relevant to the P&C insurance and technology sectors – IASA being a prime example. Since 1928 the?Insurance Accounting & Systems Association (IASA) conference had been the trusted source of knowledge and education, connecting the community of insurance professionals in accounting, finance, systems, and technology.?In 2023, IASA became affiliated with The Institutes. The IASA Xchange 2025 conference will be held in St. Louis, June 8–10, 2025.

Beginning in the 90’s, the insurance media, seeking to supplement shrinking print revenues, began sponsoring conferences with themes relevant to their readership and advertisers. Many of these continue to thrive today (e.g. DigIn (Digital Insurance/Arizent/SourceMedia), PropertyCasualty Claims).

In addition, industry associations (e.g. RIMS, PLRB, SIR, APCIA, Global Insurance Forum/III Joint Industry Forum/The Institutes) SEMA,IBIS, CIECA, CIC and more produce large, successful industry and member specific conferences and still draw large crowds today. PLRB’s continuing education credits are attractive for the various state licensing requirements. Numerous private and public organizations serving the auto and home damage/repair segments have expanded and thrive as well CoreLogic, Auto Insurance Report, Property Insurance Report and others). The regulatory space is well represented by NAIC (National Association of Insurance Commissioners) through a series of State and National quarterly meetings. Finally, the industry’s larger solution providers sponsor promotional customer-centered events – several invitation only.

In 2015, global conference producers began to enter the U.S. market with more highly targeted conferences focused on emerging technologies and insurance industry transformation coinciding with the rise in Insurtech. Despite the two-year disruption caused by the pandemic, this expansion has not only resumed but has flourished. One of the more successful of these was the U.K. based Insurance Nexus (since acquired by Reuters Events) whose first U.S. event was Connected Claims event which debuted in Chicago in 2015 and has evolved to become the world’s largest insurance executive Claims event. It will host an estimated 900 attendees on November 12-13 in Austin, TX. Reuters Events has also established other well attended annual North American industry events including The Future of Insurance USA and The Future of Insurance Canada.?

We now count well over 50 major insurance-centric conferences scheduled in 2024 and some already announced for 2025.

The first InsureTech Connect (ITC) Vegas was held in 2016 and almost immediately established itself as the world’s largest gathering conference for insurance innovation.?The ITC Vegas 2024 event, scheduled for this October 15-17, and presented by McKinsey & Company, is expected to have over 9,000 attendees from the insurance and related industries. It combines extensive networking with what is new and next and facilitates meeting large numbers of people, sourcing more solutions, and creating valuable relationships and partnerships.

In addition to these “national” and “global” conferences, there are dozens more annual and quarterly regional association events, some of which are very well attended, from coast to coast.

The economics of a successful conference can be impressive but it typically takes multiple events to build the needed awareness and attendance loyalty. The conference and participant data that is obtained is valuable and can feed other year-round informational and educational activities. Of course, this depends on the various stakeholder interests ?depending on whether you are an event organizer, sponsor (mainly industry solution providers), insurance carrier attendee, speaker or investor. InsurTech startups and incumbent solution providers are constantly balancing cost/benefits and seek an ROI in terms of eventual deal flow with carriers and weigh many of the following factors.

GENERAL SELECTION CRITERIA

Most of us are unable and unwilling to attend all these events so it is important to develop some criteria to choose based on our available resources (time and money)

Keep in mind that based on conference location and travel options, your commitment may be a day or two longer than the conference itself. And based on time of year and location, consider the potential for travel disruption.?

• Before committing, find out who is attending (at least by company and title). Depending on your responsibilities, ensure that enough of your “prospects” will be available. Conference attendance numbers can be misleading; find out the breakdown between solution providers, insurers, investors, media, academics, and others.?

INSURANCE COMPANY STAFF?

· ?Consider opportunity to hold on-site company team meetings if appropriate - this can be very cost efficient. ?Most conferences offer attractive group rate discounts,

· ?Identify opportunities to gain competitive intelligence?

· ?Meet privately with selected solution providers/save time and control the meeting length

· ?If you have a speaking role, conferences can be good for career management and self- promotion

· ?Check to see if Continuing Education (CE) credits are available

SOLUTION PROVIDERS

· ?Booth location can matter; try to get positioned near hall entrances, close to refreshments. The uniqueness of your premiums or giveaways can also make a difference.

· ?Take full advantage of the event network apps to search for, identify and schedule introductions to your highest priority “targets”

· ?Identify “prospects” and schedule appointments in advance; reconfirm them one week in advance

· ?Exhibitor maps can help you identify and plan your time on the show floor

· ?Arrive early and document the exhibit hall floor with your video camera for future reference?

· ?Establish an “offsite” meeting location, which could include a hotel suite.

· ?Organize and sponsor informational sessions (meet-and-greets) with selected targeted attendees; ask the conference organizer to assist you with the invitation process

· ?Schedule offsite social/dinner/sports outings; invitation-only can be considered to keep things manageable?

· ?Do not expect to see an immediate “sales” result during and after the conference; your objectives for participation should include network development, visibility, brand awareness and thought leadership.

· ?If your company is early stage or seeking funding, keep in mind that most of these events include investors with special interest in insurance technologies

MAXIMIZE YOUR INVESTMENT

Whether you are an insurer, solution provider or “other,” these tips are equally relevant and valuable. The average investment in attending a single conference today is $3,000 - $4,000 all in for insurers and much more for sponsors and exhibitors.?

These strategies may appear to be plain common sense but most attendees do not practice them.

· ?In addition to the conference networking app (which is very valuable), use social media before, during and after the event to share thoughts and let people know where you are and what you are interested in

· ?If you are attending with colleagues, resist the natural temptation of sticking with them in sessions and especially during networking breaks and meals. Networking is one of the most important benefits of attending

· ?Post-conference, be sure to share your learnings, including your notes, with your colleagues. You are more likely to get approval for your next conference attendance request ?

OUR VIEW

While mainstage presentations and panel discussions can be informative, we find that smaller, topic specific group breakouts of between 8-12 individuals, curated by industry experts allow for more focused attendee participation and informational exchange. Attendee satisfaction survey results are improved and we hope to see more time allocated to workshop and roundtable sessions. ?

The 3-day event structure is being supplanted by shorter 1.5-2-day sessions. Longer events can consume nearly a whole week when including travel and for the vendors to arrive early/stay late for set up and breakdown of expo areas.

We hope to see you out there in conference land soon. ?And one last bit of advice – wear comfortable shoes, especially for supersized events like ITC Vegas.