When the New Zealand Underwriting Agencies Council (NZUAC) took its Expo to Christchurch in May, there was strong engagement from the broker community and the conversations ran deep. Auckland, on August 18, is a different proposition. According to NZUAC executive director Paul Uprichard (pictured), that difference is the point.
"Every region has its own characteristics but Auckland brings together an unusually broad cross-section of our industry in one place," Uprichard said. "That creates a valuable opportunity for people from across the market to discuss the bigger trends shaping insurance, share different perspectives and build stronger industry connections."
The fundamentals of the Expo carry over from the South Island event, he said, but scale changes what's possible in the room.
"While the fundamentals are much the same as Christchurch, the breadth of the audience means we can bring together a wide range of perspectives and experiences, adding another dimension to the discussions both on stage and throughout the event," said Uprichard.
That broader ambition didn't emerge from nowhere. The Christchurch Expo demonstrated the value of creating genuine time for brokers and underwriting agencies to engage directly. NZUAC has carried that learning into the Auckland programme by specifically offering brokers more direct access to the people writing their risks. "One key trend that became clear in Christchurch was that brokers value having the time to engage directly with underwriting agencies," Uprichard said. "They want the opportunity to ask questions, discuss real client challenges and better understand how different underwriting agencies and insurers are responding to the current market."
Auckland's format builds on that experience. "We've reflected that in Auckland by extending the programme to create more time for exhibitors and roundtable discussions alongside a panel discussion on the bigger issues shaping our industry at present and where we see the market heading," he said.
The bigger underwriter and broker audience is a headline change since the Christchurch meeting but partnership remains the theme running underneath. Uprichard is direct about why collaboration between brokers, agencies and insurers matters more as risk gets harder to parse.
"No one organisation has all the answers, particularly as the risk landscape becomes more complex or interconnected," he said. "As such, the industry bodies are working hard to strengthen relationships and communication across the market because that helps us better understand the challenges facing clients and respond with the talent, specialist expertise and innovation needed to develop new solutions and address emerging protection gaps."
That collaboration is already visible, he suggested, rather than aspirational. "We're already seeing the foundations of that collaboration and I expect we'll see more tangible examples of it as the year progresses."
It's a continuation of ground NZUAC broke at its first 2026 event, where Uprichard framed the Christchurch Expo as a response to a market in genuine transition. Auckland's expanded format suggests NZUAC sees that transition accelerating rather than settling and wants as broad a slice of the industry as possible in the room to respond to it together. The approach also builds on feedback from last year's Auckland edition, which focused on helping brokers seize soft market opportunities as capacity opened up faster than expected.
Insurance Business New Zealand is the official media partner. This article was written in collaboration with NZUAC
