This year Toronto, or better said Toronno, was the beautiful location for the IUMI annual conference which was a huge success. The third conference to be held on Canadian soil – second in Toronto – surpassed all expectations and we would like to thank the CBMU (Canadian Board of Marine Underwriters) for their amazing organisation and kind hospitality.

The conference theme “Confronting the chaos for a sustainable future?” was a rather controversial topic for discussion but the Technical Committee chairs and committees worked hard to put together interesting and informative workshops with key speakers from the industry. There were over 500 delegates in attendance and healthy and lively debates took place both in the conference hall and during the coffee breaks. Some of the highlights include the President’s workshop on digitalization; the Facts & Figures workshop which presented the annual IUMI statistics; and the opening session where we heard from Canadian dignitaries and subject experts.  

Presentations from the various Technical Committee workshops covered topical issues such as containership fires, the upcoming IMO Sulphur cap regulations, digitalisation, geopolitics of trade and the emergence of the Arctic as a regular sea route. One topic that IUMI has given significant emphasis to recently is a better understanding of the principles for underwriting environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.

The venue for this year’s conference was the impressive Fairmont Royal York Hotel and it was the perfect space for the event. With over 1,300 rooms this grand hotel was filled with exquisite chandeliers, Steinway pianos and a maze of hallways. Events were held in wonderful locations such as the Hockey Hall of Fame and the elegant Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex, where on the last night a sea of marine insurance professionals danced the night away.

Thank you once again to the CBMU for their amazing organisation and we look forward to seeing you next year in Sweden.  

To view and download the presentations from the conference (for members only)  please click HERE.