With a few months to go until the world’s biggest InsurTech conference in Las Vegas (check it out here), I thought I’d share some thoughts on how to get the most out of industry events, having been a conference regular since 2006.

The insurance industry has events to cater for all, no matter what part of the sector you work in. In the UK the two major events for the traditional insurance sector have always been the BIBA conference (which is now almost always in Manchester, and has a foot fall of over 7,000 across the couple of days it takes place), and Airmic’s annual conference (which moves around - Birmingham, Liverpool, Harrogate, Brighton – and usually has 1,500 – 2,000 delegates). I’ll not expand on the agendas for these, but in brief summary BIBA mainly targets UK Retail General Insurance and Airmic the Risk Managed / Corporate world.

Reinsurance professionals have a couple of major events, the Rendez-vous de Septembre (RVS) in Monte Carlo, and the Baden-Baden gathering (September and October respectively).

There are more focused events for specific lines of business (PLUS have a few in the US focusing on professional lines for example), and innumerate meetups that are less official but no less informative.

The InsurTech arena has a few major events, such as ITC in Las Vegas, DIA which is in Amsterdam and Munich, the Market Minds InsurTech Conference and Intelligent InsurTech in London; and Instech.London have diverse events focusing on the intersection of technology and the London Market that run throughout the year (the next one being the Life & Health Show & Tell on 24th July).

Please note – any exclusions from the above are not deliberate, and in no way devalue the other events that take place, I simply wanted to give a taster of what’s out there.

I am a great believer in Serendipity, and some of the best discussions I have had at conferences have been around a non-invitation lunch table, or evening drinks reception. However, purely relying on lady luck can result in time spent idle, or potentially missed opportunities. I believe putting some structure to your preparations is hugely valuable and can ensure you get the most from your delegate pass.

Firstly, whilst it can be a lot of fun to fly to exotic places on the company’s expense budget and schmooze clients and counterparts, it’s worth pointing out that this rarely wins you any points. So, make sure the event you’re planning on attending is relevant and will add value to you and your company.

I will doff my hat to Matt Hodges-Long of TrackMyRisks as a true advocate of this next piece of advice – curate the attendee list and get in touch with people you want to meet in advance, and as far in advance as possible. One of the great things about social media is that it allows us to connect with each other, and platforms like LinkedIn can be a great way to get in touch with that future partner to set up a meeting. Many event organisers provide delegate lists in advance, so make use of them.

Keep your meetings spaced – always allow a buffer between the meetings you schedule to legislate for over-run and finding each other in a crowded environment. Some events can be pure chaos, and without a full knowledge of layout it can take anywhere from five to fifty minutes to get from one meeting to the next. Unless you have secured yourself a plot (as an exhibitor for example), make sure you avoid back to back appointments.

Take advantage of the content – whilst some conference organisers can be a little lazy with the structure of their event, most put a lot of time and energy in to putting together an engaging agenda. Again, plan in advance those sessions you want to attend, this will help you to coordinate the one-to-one meetings you set up more effectively.

Follow Up – don’t just collect business cards like a philatelist and then do nothing with them. Make sure you take the time as promptly after the event as possible to follow up with the new connections you’ve made. A loose promise to connect again at some point in the future won’t achieve much, but a pointed reminder of the content of the meeting and a call to action (for yourself as well as the other party) will make sure you get the most out of the conference.

There are plenty of other ways to get a good return from conferences, and having presented, moderated, and chaired my fair share, believe me when I say that a lot of effort is put in to make them worthwhile. Hopefully you’ll be able to make use of the above though, and get a solid return from future events.

I hope to see you at the next one!