The East Asian Insurance Congress (EAIC) was founded in 1962 in Tokyo with the aim of furthering and developing international collaboration in the field of insurance of every sort. Ordinary members come from cities representing a variety of East Asian insurance markets: Bandar Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Manila, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo.

Every other year, a large congress in one of the member cities takes place. The 31st EAIC was held 24 – 27 September 2024, hosted by IUMI’s member association, The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI). IUMI was represented by its Secretary General, Lars Lange who also took part in a panel titled “The Matrix: Customer centricity in insurance: empowering policyholders and enhancing the value chain” where he spoke about geopolitics, reduction of GHG in shipping, vessel safety issues such as container vessel fires and supply chain challenges.

The congress offered an excellent opportunity to learn about current developments and challenges in the key East Asian insurance markets and to have various discussions with key stakeholders. IUMI’s Asia strategy - with the opening of the IUMI Asia Hub in Hong Kong in 2016 and the creation of the IUMI Asia Forum in 2018 – still aims to grow IUMI’s membership in the region, to understand and represent developments and to interact with the region. The EAIC proved to be an ideal venue to work towards these goals.