Friday 4th December 2009 | 8:43 AM In the elegance of the Crown Promenade Conference Room in Melbourne, Damien Honan, Chairman of WBN and CEO of Honan Group, played host to more than 150 guests from 43 countries for the annual Worldwide Broker Network Conference.

The four day WBN Conference began on Wednesday the 28th of October and provided a platform for the International brokers to meet face to face and discuss all things Insurance.

The conference also provided the perfect opportunity for the delegates to build new relationships whilst tackling the important issues regarding international broking.

A “cheerful ambience” was the feeling among the brokers who purposefully discussed topics such as Cross Cultural Communication, Marketing, Employee Benefits, Memberships, IT, Carrier Relationships, Strategic Initiatives and Business Development.

The conference gave each delegate the opportunity to raise any issues they may have had with WBN business operations while others offered ideas and possible solutions to any concern that was brought up.

Cross Cultural Communication was a highly deliberated topic among the brokers who made their concerns known as they tried to find a solution to achieve a cross cultural understanding of international broking information and its systems, whilst staying true to the WBN value system. The suggestion of assigning mentors to help guide those new to the network was greeted with great enthusiasm.

Carlos Galceran of Cogesa, Spain, was very content with his experience at the Melbourne conference. “I feel that this conference has given us the opportunity to perfectly discuss the issues at hand – it also facilitates ideas for the future, we really can’t ask for more”

Luca Franzi de Luca of RVA-Rasini Viganò in Italy commented “What this conference has achieved, among other things, is that it has given the brokers of the network the opportunity to refresh our friendships while building new business and vice-versa, this is the key, growth by involvement is the key to the WBN’s success”

Away from the conference the guests were also treated to Melbourne’s unique offerings of entertainment.

The welcome dinner was hosted at The Old Melbourne Gaol where guests were welcomed by Honan as well as the Traditional Land Owners of Melbourne - the Wurundjeri Tribe, who performed a traditional dance to kick off the week’s events.

The following evening saw guests enjoy a stunning gala evening, sponsored by Chubb Insurance, at Melbourne’s most glamourous waterfront venue - Atlantic at Shed 9. Guests were treated to a cruise along the Yarra river from Crown Casino to the Docklands, followed by cocktails on the pier on arrival. The evening consisted of good food, good laughs and great music by the iconic Frankie J Holden and Wilbur Wilde.
Overall the conference was a huge success and received glowing reviews from the international guests.

“The Honan hospitality and willingness to go above and beyond expectations to make our visit as pleasant as possible is an awesome effort. The conference has been very well organised, the staff has been super, very hard working and also very good looking, Damien is very lucky!”

“It is a real credit to the organisation, it’s probably the best WBN conference I’ve been to. And Melbourne is a fantastic city, very calm.”

The next WBN Conference will be held in the picturesque city of Lucerne in Switzerland, and is being met with great anticipation from the guests following Honan’s efforts of 2009.

Honan and the WBN would like to thank all the sponsors of the 2009 Melbourne WBN Conference – Chartis, Chubb, Ace, AM Best, CommInsure and New Line.

 

Please click to view the photo slide show from the conference http://www.honan.com.au/2009-conference