Insurance people are people too

Insurance people can have fun too, and laugh at themselves.

I did not think it was possible. Sure, I’ve been to insurance conferences and attended the after-parties. Often, they are good. Some are very good. And I took solace in seeing many insurance pros, um, “unwinding.”

But Advisen stepped it up a notch the night of June 18 in presenting the first-ever Cyber Risk Awards. If you weren’t there, you may have heard what happened. If you haven’t heard, you should probably ask someone.

You should have been there.

My face hurt, I laughed so hard. “I just choked on my mozzarella,” I tweeted. It wasn’t an exaggeration. I nearly died.

I’m not going to give away what happened at the Advisen Cyber Risk Awards, because I feel I’d be breaking some kind of you-had-to-be-there code. The picture you see here is a hint for now and other pictures will follow when I upload them to this website soon.

One-liners abounded. Some in the audience were momentarily roasted. It got to the point when even a flat joke was funny simply because it didn’t land. But many landed–on the laps of direct targets.

To me, what the night of June 18 proved was that the insurance industry…at least the cyber folks…have a sense of humor. I think that’s important to point out, because I don’t think that is the overall impression of the total insurance industry by the general public. After all, you’re stuffy, dry, stiff, number-crunching underwriters, correct? Or worse, lawyers. You’re all overpaid middle-aged white guys, yes?

Well, I can’t completely debunk that last statement. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to find out there could be a balance between seriousness and not taking yourselves so seriously. The insurance and law professions have been the butt of many jokes throughout the history of time but this night showed we can laugh with you, not just at you.

Laughter the night of June 18 went far beyond the laughter normally found at conferences after a “witty” remark during a panel discussion, and at the end of the awards show it felt like the people in the room were closer for having been through it together.

I’m not sure what it would mean if the general public found you out. But it really could not hurt. At least until you deny one of their claims. Then you’re jackasses again.