So almost the end of day two at BIBA and what has IE learned schmoozing around the Manchester Central venue?
ENERGY UNDERPINS THIS GIG
As Danny Maleary from Pro Global observed; “There’s a real buzz this year, plenty of new ideas and we are seeing a big uptick in demand from MGAs who want to expand. Key areas overseas, plus overseas based MGAs looking to expand into Europe too, it works both ways. Green tech and ESG is also prompting an increase in appetite amongst MGAs. Good to see.”
John Garrard from Wrapper Insure was on the Ignite stand yesterday and agreed that BIBA had plenty of energy around;
“People are looking to refine and improve everything they do online. This event brings together so many companies across the insurance spectrum that it’s a great chance to share ideas, experience and see a few familiar faces too. It’s all about the network, you can’t do modern broking without that network of expertise behind you.”
OLD SKILLS, NEW TECH
A chat with Ecclesiastical was illminating in several respects. Did you know that as the UK designates many reed beds special wildlife zones most thatch for thatched rooves (roofs?) has being coming in from Ukraine – until recently. One of the many factoids that BIBA offers.
Eccelesiatical are also seeing a slow decline of trad crafts and hope that TV shows like the Repair Shop will spark interest in younger generations when it comes to stonemasonery, clockmaking, stained glass and other highly skilled arts. Let’s hope so, you cannot simply stick solar panels and plastic slats onto a damaged stately home or church instead of the previously beautiful slate roof..
COWS, DAWGS N FREEBIES
Over on We Are Guernsey, the feedback was that the souvenir Guernsey cow toys were proving super popular. Bit like Guernsey itself, which IE notes has its fans as a base of operations for many insurance brands now.
The Wellness Zone is a new thing at BIBA and several people commented how nice it was to chillax for a while and de-stress with a doggy pal. There is something immensely theraputic in making friends with doggies, so we say hats off to the organisers for developing this new work-life balance approach.
Next year we could have hangover pods available to hire by the hour?? Nah, only joking, there were zero hangovers visible on Thursday morning…
Moving swiftly on, the regular competitions to win stuff by guessing the value of assets, or just trading your personal data for a lifetime of emails and industry reports, was also attracting the crowds. By the way, Day One was a record breaker in terms of registrations, according to the organisers. Good news.
BIG PLANS, SMALL STAND
We were intrigued to see Berkshire Hathaway at BIBA. (show team pic above) One of the biggest names in North America is a welcome addition to the BIBA scene and IE couldn’t resist asking the big question;
“Small stand, but big plans for the UK broker market then?”
“Well there are always plans.”
Good answer we say.
DON’T QUOTE ME BUT…
There are always some snippets of chat that are kinda unprintable for legal reasons, but interesting nevertheless. Here are are a few of the best Anonymous quotes from the last two days;
“The big salvage players are heading for a showdown with the CMA, which is curious as in almost every other developed market there are basically two big players controlling write-offs and salvaged parts/vehicles.”
“When I left Uni a few years back my friend said get into Pharma sales, you’ll be bribed every weekend and be able to buy a house in your 20s. Unfortunately, I went into insurance.”
More quotes, no names naturally;
“When we pitch to trad brokers we always hear the same spiel about how they value face-to-face meetings, calls, personal emails etc. When we build new sites, add on better data handling and admin and check back 6 months later, they’ve retrained the staff who used to answer the same queries on the phone 5 days a week to do other things and all say the same thing; why didn’t we do this years ago?”
“Lloyds is trying to shift from traditional underwriting to a digital offer, but if you look how complex some risks are, it’s crazy to imagine that AI can automate everything. It’s a long road ahead for them.”
“One thing that’s really exciting is parametric reinsurance. The tech is starting to get clever enough to price in and model all kinds of risks. In theory, some events can be priced into renewals with a parametric payout system attached. It’s because some Cat events are when, not if, so really once you accurately price assets you have a renewal deal.
“Those shoes are Jeffrey West!”
That’s correct, and you win a free feature sir.
Safe journey home everyone, see you next year.
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