Singapore Expo delights insurance agent gathering

Some 10,200 insurance advisers descended upon the entire Singapore Expo for the region's largest insurance conference, the 7th Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress (APLIC) 2003 from February 20-22. Themed "New Era, New Challenges, New Attitude", organiser the Insurance and Financial Practitioners Association of Singapore (IFPAS) won the bid to host the event in Singapore and marketed the event for 21 months by travelling, getting to know key delegates and researching their needs. APLIC 2003 organising committee chairman Mr Sam Lim said the bidding process was simple as there were no contenders for the event. "The countries that intend to host this event would submit their intentions to the Asia Pacific Life Insurance Council (APLIC). They would then shortlist the potential countries. There was no competition for this event and all that was required was for me to meet up with the council and present what I intended to do," he says. "I approached the Singapore Tourism Board for two video cassettes of Singapore to present to APLIC which represents 11 countries." Singapore Expo was Mr Lim's first choice as a venue as it offered sprawling grounds and easy crowd movement. "We were targeting to have a delegate size of 12,000 and Singapore Expo can cater to a crowd size of 12,000. Although we had explored a few other venues and even though some venues assured us that they can go with 12,000, I was worried that they would compromise on safety. For example, their holding area may not be able to cater to that size." Singapore Expo general manager Mr Steven Seet says the centre won the bid by creatively using space to help the organisers. "With convenient, ground-level facilities, connecting halls, flexible tiered seating and adjacent car park, we were able to meet the event organisers' requirements of having all activities planned so that they achieved a continuous, easy and seamless flow," he says. Mr Lim had worked on APLIC's first show as the registration chairman in 1991 when it debuted in Singapore. The show has since gone to various destinations such as Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Thailand. The needs of the conference have evolved over the years and the show has grown steadily from 5,200 delegates in 1991 and expanded its reach to include participants from non-APLIC countries such as Brunei, Canada, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Africa and the US. The recent conference had 16 main platforms and 37 workshops covering topics such as motivation, sales and marketing, practice management, technology and financial planning. A carnival fair, serving Singapore and international cuisine, was set up a day before the event to feed delegates who had arrived a day earlier to register. It also served as a venue familiarisation tool prior to the event. Most came one day ahead and stayed an additional day after the conference ended. There were 36 official hotels and Mr Lim says, many such as Merchant Court, Crown Prince and Grand Copthorne Waterfront had full occupancy during the event. Mr Lim and his team had their fair share of challenges managing the event. All the main platform and workshop sessions were recorded on audio cassettes and VCDs. Instant production of the VCDs was complete after each session and made available to delegates. The demand for the VCDs was so great that the committee had trouble coping with the supply. An evening session with the topics Myths and Facts of Financial Planning, and Stress Management for Children was a disappointment as Mr Lim had aimed to draw 12,000 delegates. Only 4,200 showed up as most were more interested in attending a cocktail session, which was being run concurrently. Mr Lim's organising committee of 13 volunteers made major preparations to ensure delegates' safety. They approached Singapore's Internal Security Department for advice and to give a threat assessment of the event. They also approached the police for advice on how to monitor safety. A security firm, Focal Security, was then engaged for the event, hiring 45 security men and two guard dogs to patrol the grounds. "We did bomb sweeps everyday and did not allow anyone with many bags to come in without being scanned. We also searched delegates on a random basis," he says. "When we had translation services, each time someone returned a faulty radio set, we would open up the set and dispose of the battery immediately as we have learned that batteries can be fitted with bombs. "Every tea break, the security guards and my people would comb the whole hall to remove anything suspicious. Anything that could pose a threat would be carefully removed. We also had a team of people with bicycles patrolling the Expo throughout the event."