So, BIBA has come and gone for another year. It was as different this year as every other aspect of life has been this past 15 months but it was good to have the conference back, at least in some capacity. We trust it will return to its usual format in 2022.
After some initial challenges the BIBA Conference 2021 provided a great networking opportunity with the added bonus of an extra day. Big credit to the BIBA team for getting everything resolved and the event back on track. It proved to be the perfect platform to launch Broker Intelligence, our new solution to help brokers use data enrichment to better serve their customers, consumers, in a way that’s never before been possible.
While the industry has not had the pleasure of heading to Manchester this week for the BIBA Conference, there has still been a bit of a buzz in the air, and so much goodwill for BIBA. It’s testament to just how much we’ve all missed getting together for a second May in a row. Fingers crossed next year the show can go on in person!
Strengthening Resilience was the conference theme and this week the resilience shown by BIBA as an organisation has echoed the resilience our whole sector has shown in 2020 and 2021 so far.
Diversity of thought and the benefits to business
One of the things I really love about this industry is the close-knit community, and there’s no better event than BIBA for bringing everyone together. For me, BIBA has always been the best place for meeting industry friends, connecting with people and relighting my fire, and that’s in a normal year. But 2020 was no normal year!
There’s a very different buzz around BIBA this year
While we’re obviously disappointed not to be hitting the road and swarming into Manchester, as we have so many times before, the sense of anticipation around this week’s digital conference is huge.
The BIBA buzz has always been quite hard to define. A bit more than the sum of its parts, it’s the product of many years of work that has built an event quite unlike any other in our industry.
Welcome back, BIBA!
After a year off due to the pandemic, it’s a welcome return for the largest insurance broker event in the calendar.
My very first BIBA (spent staffing the stand and handing out leaflets) was held in sunny Brighton, where the evening’s entertainment was enjoyed on the pier with a portion of fish and chips. Now having worked in the insurance industry for over three decades, I’ve attended pretty much every BIBA since; including a very memorable one in London where a fire drill had everyone trying to work out who insured the building. Luckily, there was no fire, just a dodgy toaster!
