The International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) has announced four keynote speakers for its forthcoming Biennial Conference which will take place in Buenos Aires (Argentina) from 12-15 November 2025. Most of the speakers for the event have now been added to the agenda on the Conference website.

The theme for this year’s Conference is Collaborating with purpose which will address the priority strategic issues around people, performance and partnerships to inspire and assist leaders to transform their businesses and promote effective collaboration for a resilient, purpose-led future. Each day will explore a pivotal element of the Conference theme:

• People: The importance of talent and leadership in navigating emerging issues and driving competitive growth as customer-centric businesses.
• Performance: Balancing purpose and sustainability goals with financial success and effectively leveraging new technology trends for greater operational excellence.
• Partnerships: Collaboration at a global scale to achieve strategic goals and enhance the resilience of the communities we serve.

The opening session of the 2024 ICMIF Biennial Conference will feature two of the keynote speakers announced. Firstly, Alexandra Stråberg, Chief Economist at Swedish ICMIF member Länsförsäkringar, will provide an overview of the current geopolitical landscape. Alexandra was the closing keynote speaker at the ICMIF Centenary Conference in Rome (Italy) in 2022, and she will also moderate the rest of the sessions on day one of the Conference. Isabelle Santenac, EY’s Global Insurance Leader, will also provide an overview of the global insurance sector and the key trends impacting the strategies of insurers. She will also share some new EY research on the global mutual insurance landscape, based on recent surveys and interviews with mutual leaders.

On day two of the conference, Mona Kothari-Chitalia, Managing Director from Microsoft’s Global Financial Services team will present in a session looking at unlocking new opportunities through artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies. In her capacity as an AI and digital expert in insurance, Mona will be joined by EY Canada’s Jennifer Baziuk to share the latest thought-leadership on the current and future impact of AI on the insurance sector – and any additional implications or opportunities for mutual insurers to leverage.

In the closing session of the Conference, Ariel Guarco, President of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) will take to the stage as our final keynote speaker in a session on “Collaborating with purpose”. As one of the most influential leaders in the Argentine and global cooperative movement, Ariel will share his thoughts and insights on the impact and potential for cooperative/mutual business to help overcome global challenges, and the opportunity our sector has ahead of the 2025 United Nations International Year of Cooperatives (IYC).

Looking ahead to the Conference in November, ICMIF CEO Designate Liz Green said: “Amidst current geopolitical uncertainty, I believe there is plenty to be excited about for purpose-led insurers. Our latest research shows that the global mutual and cooperative sector collectively wrote USD 1.41 trillion in insurance premiums and increased the sector’s share of the total insurance market to an eight-year high of 26.3% in 2022. Our sector is thriving despite the uncertainties – history shows that we always do! We are continuing to evolve our business models while being anchored to each of our unique, long-term purposes which includes serving the ever-changing needs of the communities we serve and at the Conference we will hear from members on how they are doing this – the challenges and the successes.”

Green continued: “As we look ahead, our members are, in the main, optimistic about the opportunities to mitigate the new emerging risks and take advantage of opportunities. The best performing members are typically those who collaborate with each other; hence our Conference theme Collaborating with purpose. These organisations seek inspiration outside their markets and welcome opportunities to see challenges and opportunities from new perspectives.”

“And so the 2024 ICMIF Biennial Conference agenda will not only lean-in towards the tougher topics we are all facing, but will also inspire positive action. Each day we will also share how ICMIF can support its members’ journeys,” Green concluded.

ICMIF is the global association for cooperative and mutual insurers. As a membership organisation, ICMIF provides its member organisations with a unique opportunity to address common priorities, gain a world perspective, and collaborate on solutions that can both help these organisations grow and use their collective strength to truly make a difference. This is most evident at the Biennial Conference where up to 350+ delegates from countries around the world convene to network and learn from each other.

The ICMIF Centenary Conference in 2022 was the largest global gathering of mutual and cooperative insurance leaders – with over 400 delegates from more than 139 organisations across 41 countries joining the event in Rome (Italy), hosted by the Unipol Group, one of the Federation’s founding members.