Iowa to Host Global Insurance Symposium in 2014

Iowa officials say a new insurance symposium set for next year in Des Moines is aimed at bringing top industry experts to the area.

Iowa Insurance Commissioner Nick Gerhart said the two-day Global Insurance Symposium will attract industry experts and regulatory authorities from around the world, The Des Moines Register reported.

Gerhart said the symposium is a unique opportunity to discuss issues facing the insurance industry.

Jay Byers, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, said organizers were inspired by the World Food Prize and how it’s shaped agriculture in Iowa.

“We thought that putting together a signature event for the insurance industry in the spring would be a very nice bookend for what the World Food Prize does in the fall,” he said.

Byers said such an event will work well for Des Moines because the city has a reputation for being an insurance industry hub. Insurance companies in the state employ more than 41,000 people, the newspaper reported. Byers said one benefit to the event is possible industry expansion in the state.

“If we have insurance execs outside of Iowa and they get to know our industry leaders and get to know our regulatory staff, get to know the region, as they’re making future decisions in terms of expansion, we would like to have them consider Iowa,” he said.

The symposium will be held at the Des Moines Marriott Hotel on May 21-22. Gerhart said he would like the symposium, which is estimated to cost between $80,000 and $120,000, to occur annually or at least every other year.

“My hope is that a lot of people look at this as an industry event,” he said.