“Elevate” was the theme at the Steadfast New Zealand annual conference at Wellington’s convention centre last week.

About 270 people attended the event, which included presentations by international and local speakers on subjects including the economy, market trends, technology and emerging risks.

“There were some really interesting topics to help support members and educate their staff to achieve in the next year in the soft market,” Steadfast NZ CEO Neil Cousins told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

The conference heard economic conditions may start to improve next year as lower interest rates make an impact.

Mr Cousins says weaker market conditions are mainly affecting high-end risks, while momentum continues in the consumer space following events such as the Auckland floods and Cyclone Gabrielle in recent years.

“We have seen premiums pretty well stay flat in SME, which is positive for the customers, considering the hard market we have had over the past couple of years,” he said.

“Where we are seeing savings for our customers, they are more inclined to take additional cover such as management liability and cyber products.”

Keynote addresses were delivered by change strategist and author Michael McQueen and by Brooke Roberts, co-founder and director of wealth app Sharesies.

The conference raised $NZ51,00 ($45,400) for charity partner I Am Hope, which provides free counselling and support for young people. The sum included a $20,000 matching contribution from Dual.