Get The Essentials On The IRI Annual Conference, Insurance Innovators USA, And The LIMRA Annual Conference
Not sure which of the seemingly endless wealth management industry and industry-adjacent conferences you should attend this year?
That’s why WSR launched our new Guide To Industry Conferences! We explain when and where the crucial events are scheduled to be held in 2023, along with who attends and why they show up. Our second entry in the series covers insurance.
This is a space that financial advisors should understand in order to provide the best guidance to their clients, whether they are mass affluent clients in need of basic life and long-term-care insurance or they are ultra-high net worth clients in need of advanced trust and estate planning solutions.
Below we explore the key details of attending the Insured Retirement Institute’s IRI Annual Conference, Insurance Innovators USA and the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association’s LIMRA Annual Conference.
IRI Annual Conference
The IRI Annual Conference, which is hosted by the Insured Retirement Institute, will be held from March 15 to 17 in Aventura, Florida. It gathers nearly 500 attendees from companies such as life insurers, asset managers, broker-dealers, banks, marketing organizations, law firms and solution providers.
Financial advisors can register to attend for $300, at a steep discount compared to IRI members, who currently pay $1,995, and other nonmembers, who currently pay $2,495. The event addresses business, technology, political and regulatory issues that impact the insurance and annuity supply chain for retired individuals. It kicks off with IRI President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne Chopus moderating a fireside chat with three industry CEOs.
Sponsors include Fidelity, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Pacific Life, Lincoln Financial Group, Prudential, Nationwide, Brighthouse Financial and Jackson. Financial advisors may be interested in agenda topics such as The Current State of the Consumer and Agent Experience; Investment Only Variable Annuities are Managed Accounts — So What’s the Problem?; and Retirement SECURE-ity for All: Making the Most of SECURE 2.0.
Insurance Innovators USA
Insurance Innovators USA, which is hosted by MarketforceLive, will be held from April 17 to 18 in Nashville, Tennessee. It gathers more than 700 attendees, often from leading insurance carriers and 60% of whom are at the management level. The event aims to prioritize carrier-led conversations about how firms are responding to technological and socioeconomic challenges in 2023 and beyond.
This year’s speakers are from companies such as USAA, AXA, John Hancock, Northwestern Mutual, Nationwide and The Hartford. Key agenda topics are The Future of Insurance; Next-Stage Customer Experience; Beyond the Hype: Insurtech + Innovation; and Product & Pricing. In addition, Insurance Innovators USA features a guest “matchmaking app,” roundtable sessions, one-on-one VIP networking meetings and nighttime entertainment with live country music at local venues.
Although most financial advisors likely have not yet discovered this event, those who can attend Insurance Innovators USA stand to get a much better understanding of how insurance providers design and distribute the products that many wealth management clients rely upon. Non-insurer tickets currently cost $2,549. As a vice president at AXA was quoted on the event’s website as saying, “Truly one of the most thought-provoking and inspiring insurance events! Great content, great speakers, great connections!”
The LIMRA Annual Conference, which is hosted by the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association, will be held from October 22 to 24 in National Harbor, Maryland. It is considered one of the largest gatherings in the insurance industry for managers and senior executives across the life, annuities and workplace benefits spaces, where leaders discuss the latest issues and trends facing the financial services industry. Attendees also include decision-makers from broker-dealers and asset managers.
During this year’s event, all general sessions will be live streamed and certain breakout sessions will be recorded and available after the conference ends. In-person attendance for nonmembers currently costs $2,750 but virtual session attendance costs only $600 for nonmembers. Advisors who attend this event may gain deeper insights into emerging developments, as well as the true priorities of life insurance and annuity salespeople who interact with their wealth management clients.
Topics on last year’s agenda included The LIMRA-EY Experienced Financial Advisor Study (based on a survey of more than 900 advisors, insurance and investment professionals); Life Insurance “Unbundling”; Life Insurance – Product Possibilities in a Post-COVID World; and Annuities – Defining Success for Today’s Retirees. First Lady Michelle Obama was the keynote speaker. Ellen Cooper, President and CEO of Lincoln Financial Group, also spoke on an executive panel.
Chris Latham, Deputy Managing Editor at Wealth Solutions Report, can be reached at clatham@wealthsolutionsreport.com
