Once again, IDEX Consulting attended a very successful BIBA in Manchester where we interviewed a number of high profile Insurance leaders about a number of topics.
So, another BIBA over, what a great few days in Manchester.
It all started with arriving at Euston at 2pm to travel up to Manchester on the Tuesday, the train was like Leadenhall market on a Friday afternoon with the amount of familiar faces in the carriage.
My first meeting was with a new CEO of a major broking business who I hadn’t met up with for a while, really interested to get the lowdown on his views and plans etc. This was followed by another meeting with a senior lady from a major insurer to discuss her career options and aspirations.
So then I go off to my hotel to check in and get ready before our annual pre-BIBA client dinner, a collective of the great and the good from the insurance market. We head to Hawksmoor in their private dining room for some great food and drink (Unfortunately we were not the group who took advantage of the £4.5k bottle of wine by mistake!), coupled with tales from the market before we all promised each other a relatively early night, as we knew BIBA fever would kick in properly on the Wednesday morning.
Now this year we looked at BIBA with a different plan, I had 16 meetings arranged over my 3 days in Manchester, plus 7 clients booked in for us to video them on their thoughts of the market, issues they are facing and their plans ahead.
First up was the irrepressible Nick Sharp from Ardonagh/URIS– see his video here
Interesting views from Nick here on the market, AI, Bots and the dreaded Brexit situation. Following Nick we had the CEO of Ensurance, Tim James, great to hear Tim’s views on what Ensurance are doing in the market here.
It was now lunchtime and I had a meeting with a good contact of mine who runs the recruitment and talent attraction for a major broker, some great insight into how they are marketing the insurance industry to new entrants and the wins they have achieved… plus a long discussion on how we can work in tandem to attract the right people. In the afternoon I had a meeting with one of my first ever clients, the inspiring Paul Anscombe from Seventeen Group. I have known Paul for circa 20 years, a stalwart of the industry –click here to watch Paul giving us his views.
Later that day we were lucky enough to grab a few minutes from Brendan McManus from PIB, what a story so far, from an initial start-up a couple of years ago to a major force in the market now. Thanks for your time Brendan and your candid interview which can be seen here.
The general vibe at BIBA was really positive, lots of change going on in the market, but the majority were positive on the outlook of the industry and the opportunities around the corner. So the first day closes with many a cocktail party to attend, thanks to a number of our clients for the invites, then off to the BIBA Quiz where tragically we didn’t win. No surprise there…after the quiz a few more drinks with some old friends in the market and some new contacts made. I promised myself an early night as had a 7:30am meeting… which I made!
Thursday arrives and I get to my breakfast meeting half an hour early in order to prep properly, great discussion on two new senior hires this business is after, closely followed by another meeting with a privately owned brokerage looking to add to their team in the South – overall a busy morning before more filming. See here what Jason Beelders from CNA Hardy thinks. Interesting to hear the diversification challenges global insurers are seeing. Following this I managed to get some time with Des O’Connor, CEO of Bravo Group to hear his views on the market, key issues they are facing as a network and finding the right people.See Des’ video here.
Finally I had a great chat with Jason Anthony, founder of MGAM, a relatively new business within the MGA space. Click here Jason’s views on the market.
Overall, what a fantastic few days! Lots of interesting views from senior people in the market…Brexit not going to happen apparently, plus the key message I picked up was to “move with the times, don’t get bogged down and bury your head in the sands or you will get overtaken, hiring the right people in the right jobs is key and most importantly, we are all part of it, we all have a role to play”.
Anyway, another BIBA over, here’s to another 12 months until the next one!
A big thank you to the individuals who took time to work with me on putting these videos together – much appreciated.
Cheers
David
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