Last week’s Austbrokers & IBNA Member Services (AIMS) Conference proved an ideal opportunity to discuss issues related to the recent spate of natural disasters and their aftermath, according to GM Martin McAvenna.

He says the Gold Coast conference proved “a successful mix of principals, practitioners and insurers”, with plenty of time set aside for networking and discussion.

“The themes of the main speakers – who included a leading economist, a futurist, an adventurer and plastic surgeon Fiona Wood – “reflected the issues we’re grappling with as an industry, and emphasised the need for people to grasp opportunities and deal efficiently with adversity”.

Conference activities for the 432 delegates were based around a compact “trading floor”, where exhibitors occupied small “pods”.

“We’ve found this arrangement encourages the best people-to-people contact,” Mr McAvenna told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “We don’t see a need for Battlestar Galactica-type structures.”

Next year’s AIMS conference will be in Auckland from April 20-24.