A Review From the Personal Lines Track

During the SIR Annual Conference in October, attendees could choose sessions from five tracks that best align with their job functions and interests. The Personal Lines track was chaired by Lorrin Rondeau, Regional Product Manager, General Insurance | Private Client Group, American International Group, Inc., Thomas Frank, CIC, Market Intelligence Consultant / Enterprise Office, Erie Insurance, and Jaimie Pickles, CPCU, ARM, CEO & Co-founder of First Interpreter.

According to Thomas, the biggest challenge to planning the event track was providing a balance of sessions to highlight the top trends impacting our industry and the Personal Lines space. 

“We do our best to balance the content across personal auto, homeowners and special topics (pricing, risk management, etc.) to cater to a wide variety of attendees. This year we received a great deal of auto-focused submissions and had to work to round out the content,” he said.

It was one of those auto-focused sessions, The Shifting Vehicle Fleet and Its Impact on Insurance, that was a highlight of the Personal Lines track to Thomas. “The session highlighted how our nation’s vehicle fleet is the most powerful, pricey, and complex to repair than it’s ever been,” he said. 

Lorrin said she enjoyed the Evolution of Generational Behaviors and Preferences session, as it “provided interesting data-driven insights as to how insurers can look to meet the needs of each generational segment moving forward.” She also enjoyed seeing first-hand “the positive collaboration between Ondo InsurTech and Hiscox Insurance as they’ve partnered to utilize the LeakBot system for water damage prevention,” she said, calling the session “a unique opportunity to learn about water loss experience within the UK.” 

Both Lorrin and Thomas would like to see a larger audience for next year’s event with greater carrier attendance. 

“We aim to consistently expand our audience and share all of the positive aspects that SIR and the Annual Conference have to offer,” Thomas said. 

Lorrin said she plans to be more proactive within her own network to try to help expand the carrier side and get inspiration for even more exciting content ideas to ensure bases are covered. 

“After experiencing my first conference and year with the committee, I feel that much more energized to spread the word about the benefits of SIR involvement and next year’s Annual Conference,” she said. 

Being together in person was the best part of the annual event for both the veteran event attendee Thomas and the first-timer Lorrin. 

“My personal favorite part of the event was meeting my fellow committee members and the three agents I had the pleasure of working with on the Agency of the Future Panel. This was my first conference, and I loved seeing a lot of the same vendor/member faces throughout the week,” Lorrin said. “It was very apparent that strong relationships are formed quickly through SIR and the conference experience due to the frequent opportunities provided for meaningful connection.”

Thomas added, “My favorite aspect of this year’s conference was the opportunity to see everyone in person once again. After a few years hiatus, it was great to catch up with all the members & vendors once again.”