SIRC takes ‘painful decision’ to cancel physical conference for second year in a row

Once again, the  Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC) that was expected to go ahead in person this year, has been cancelled and replaced by a virtual-only event for the second year in a row due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19.

The organising committee of Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC), one of the key re/insurance events globally, had earlier said that it was drawing up plans for a ‘hybrid event’, combining a virtual segment alongside physical presence, for the 17th edition of SIRC in November.

However, the Singapore Reinsurers’ Association ( SRA) has finally decided to run the event in virtual format for a second year. It said, the “difficult decision was made in light of a spike in COVID-19 infections attributed to the highly transmissible Delta-variant strain not only in Singapore, where vaccination rates
are well over 80 percent, but also elsewhere across the Asia-Pacific region.”

SRA is planning a conference similar to the SIRC 2020 Re-Mind event that was organised last year, and is assembling a line-up of speakers and panellists for the 17th edition, which will be held from 15 to 17 November this year.

The theme of the 17th SIRC will be ‘Re-insurance: Quo Vadis?’. Swiss Re is the lead partner and will curate a number of sessions including a Fireside Chat with its CEO reinsurance Moses Ojeisekhoba. Other partners for the event include Allianz Re and Munich Re, AM Best, ICEYE and Lloyd’s, which will each host one session each over the three-day conference period, with Lloyd’s chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown delivering the Industry Keynote.

“We were very hopeful that the worst was behind us and that we would once again be able to meet up in-person with all our associates and partners from across the world,” said Marc Haushofer, Chairman of the SRA.

“We delayed this painful decision for as long as we could but after consulting all our key partners and closely monitoring official announcements on the easing of border restrictions, it became clear that there would not be a sufficient number of overseas attendees for the hybrid event to be viable,” he added.

Russell Higginbotham, CEO reinsurance Asia & Regional President of Swiss Re Asia, said: "We are very pleased to support the SRA for the 17th SIRC. The pandemic has presented a chance for the re/insurance industry to reflect on the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead of us and to consider ways to bring about sustainable change.”