The Insurance Brokers Association of New Zealand (IBANZ) annual “Propel” conference will return to Auckland in July to capitalise on the success of last year’s conference in the city.

CEO Gary Young says the two-day event “took a big leap forward” last year, attracting 800 brokers by moving away from motivational and entertainment sessions and concentrating on education, networking, business sessions and interactive workshops.

“We ensured far better attendance by being close to where a significant proportion of the market operates and we ran five workshop streams throughout the two main days of the conference,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“It also gave sponsors and exhibitors greater opportunities to engage with brokers.”

Mr Young says the conference on July 13-15 will be held at Auckland’s SkyCity complex, and flexible registration options will be offered again to attract the maximum possible number of delegates.

He says IBANZ will decide later this year on where the 2012 conference – which had been scheduled for Christchurch – will be held.

“Our original planning was to hold it in Christchurch, but the [earthquake] rebuild looks so significant it’s very unlikely they will be ready for us before our 2013 conference.”