Here to negotiate (and visit the Casino bar)

The majority of attendees at the reinsurance conference in Baden-Baden attend in order to negotiate with clients in relation to the year-end renewals or reaffirm relationships with existing clients in a relaxed environment—with several stressing how pleasant the German town is in comparison to the faster-paced Monte Carlo Rendez-Vous.

That was the conclusion of an online pre-Baden-Baden survey conducted by this publication. Some 46 percent of respondents said they attended to negotiate, while 32 percent said it was about the relationships. And there was definitely a German bias to some of the responses.

“The number of markets and insurance companies represented in Baden-Baden is much larger than in Monte Carlo. This is also a more work-orientated gathering than the Rendez-Vous, and unlike in Monte Carlo I don’t need to wear a hard hat because of construction in progress,” one respondent said.

Another agreed that it is very much a working event. “It is mainly to negotiate with reinsurers rather than clients and to reaffirm relationships with both clients and reinsurers as well as meeting new people,” the executive said.

Respondents also admitted attending for other reasons. Some 14 percent said they are there to meet new people and seek clients while a shameless 7 percent said the event represents a holiday from the grind of the office on expenses.

“I admit to spending a lot of time in the Casino bar,” said one. “It is like a timeless corner of indulgence but I have also picked up some business there in the most unusual of circumstances,” said another.

Others, however, took umbrage that the idea that Baden-Baden is any sort of recreation.

“Baden-Baden is certainly not a holiday! We regularly meet with current clients during the year, although we do also meet some of them at Baden-Baden.

“With the advent of electronic data, Baden-Baden is a little obsolete when it comes to negotiating year-end renewals. Therefore, our key reason for attending BB is because it gives us an opportunity to engage with new clients and markets,” she said.

Why do you attend the Baden-Baden reinsurance conference?