An early start to your 2010 networking programme
The financial services landscape is constantly changing. In recent years this change has been driven by increased regulation rather than product innovation. While all industry stakeholders have had to alter their business models to accommodate legislative changes there’s little doubt the financial services intermediary has been particularly hard hit. Economists note that compliance issues impact heavily on small business – the area many financial services providers operate in.
How do financial intermediaries keep abreast of industry developments? One way is to make sure you read as much industry news as possible. Industry focused websites such as FAnews Online (https://www.fanews.co.za/) are particularly useful in this regard. A second useful source of industry knowledge is the industry representative body. Make sure you sign up with a body that represent your interests, particularly when negotiating with regulatory authorities around issues that affect your business. And a third is to attend as many industry networking functions and conferences as possible. Conferences impart invaluable information about breaking industry trends, encourage debate and create countless opportunities to interact with like-minded peers.
Super-conference planned for next year
In their latest newsletter the Insurance Institute of South Africa (IISA) announced plans for a super-conference in 2010. The IISA Annual Conference 2010, themed Rising to the Challenge, will take place at Sun City, Pilanesberg, from 23 to 25 May 2010. It’s billed a super-conference because two other industry bodies have joined the event. The South African Insurance Association (SAIA) and the Financial Intermediaries Association (FIA) will join the IISA to collaborate at the first-ever IISA/SAIA/FIA joint conference!
This alliance certainly has the insurance sector covered. SAIA, with 55 members, represents almost all of the short-term insurance companies in South Africa. The FIA is a financial services intermediary association representing approximately 15 000 financial intermediaries. These intermediaries account for approximately 60% of life insurance and collective investment transactions and as much as 80% of employee benefit transactions in the country. The FIA was formed after the 1 January 2008 merger of the South African Financial Services Intermediaries Association (SAFSIA)andthe Insurance Brokers Council (IBC). Luasa (Association of Professional Financial Planners) was subsequently merged with this entity too.
“The conference format has been changed to meet the needs of insurers, underwriters, brokers, re-insurers and other insurance professionals,” said the IISA. Attendees will benefit from extended presentation slots, trade exhibitions and those all important networking opportunities. Billed as “a conference not to be missed” the IISA is urging insurance professionals to diarise the date now!
Difficult choices
A combined insurance industry conference is a good idea. It provides networking opportunities across different sections of the short-term market that wouldn’t necessarily occur at single-body events. It also creates a platform to address distribution issues, discuss administrative efficiencies and generate ideas for future product innovations. But there are some concerns. The first is that the conference loses some of its ‘intimacy’ by attracting too many attendees. The second will be the challenge of providing appropriate content to accommodate individuals from such diverse backgrounds. There’s a risk of running too many mini-conferences (via plenary sessions) and forcing attendees to sacrifice one presentation in favour of another.
From experience we know the IISA event is professionally run and of benefit to all attendees – and we’re sure the 2010 conference will be no different. We look forward to seeing you there.
Editor’s thoughts:
As FAnews Online editor I’ve attended the last three IISA conferences at Sun City. I view the event as an opportunity to catch up on news and views that my readers might find interesting. Have you attended an IISA conference in the past? Do you use such events for networking or to catch up on industry trends and developments? Add your comments below, or send them to [email protected]
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