I was in New Orleans for the Private Risk Management Association (PRMA) annual Summit back in October, and let me tell you, the energy in that place was electric. It wasn't just busy; it was buzzing. You could feel that something big was happening.
I’ve been to a lot of industry events over the years, and you get a sense for these things. This felt different. So, I knew I had to catch up with Diane Delaney, the CEO and executive director of PRMA, to get the story behind the scenes. We carved out some time to chat, and what she shared was even more impressive than the packed conference halls suggested.
Just How Big is This Growth Spurt? The Numbers Are Staggering.
I started by asking Diane about the crowd, which felt massive. I knew it was packed, but when she laid out the numbers, it really put things in perspective.
"Both our summit attendance and membership have grown tremendously," she told me. And she wasn't kidding.
Think about this for a second: just five years ago, the PRMA summit had a little over 300 attendees. This year in New Orleans? They had just under 900. That’s a 175% jump! In fact, the event was so popular they had to start a waitlist after hitting 800 registrations. Without that, Diane figures they could have easily hit a thousand people.
The membership numbers tell the same story. Back in 2021, PRMA had around 3,000 members. Today, that number has more than doubled to over 6,200. It's the kind of growth that makes you sit up and pay attention.
Of course, that kind of success brings its own challenges. As Diane put it, the big question now is, "how to scale the summit appropriately." It's a great problem to have, but a real one nonetheless. You want to accommodate everyone, but you also don't want to lose the magic that made the event special in the first place.
So, What's the Secret Sauce Behind PRMA's Success?
Okay, so the growth is undeniable. But why is it happening? What’s pulling all these people in?
Diane believes it comes down to a simple truth: "Well-run associations thrive during times of disruption." And let’s be honest, the insurance world has been on a rollercoaster for the past several years. We've all been dealing with market conditions that even 30-year veterans have never seen before.
During all that chaos, PRMA became a lifeline. It was a place where people could find education and, maybe more importantly, collaboration. It became a source of hope. "The underlying message was ‘we will be better if we’re in this together,’" Diane explained, and that really struck a chord with people as the market got tougher.
It was a perfect storm of the right resources at the right time. The market was crazy, PRMA had the educational tools people needed, and the leadership transition—with former director Lisa Lindsay passing the torch—was perfectly timed. The doors opened wider, and the industry walked right in.
Growing Pains? How PRMA Plans to Scale Smartly.
When you're growing this fast, you can't just wing it. You need a plan. I was curious about what PRMA is doing to make sure this growth is healthy and sustainable, not just a flash in the pan.
Diane and her 20-person board have been doing some serious strategic planning, focusing on three core goals for the next three years.
First up is building a foundation for growth. As Diane pointed out, when she started in 2022, she had the same number of staff she has today. With membership doubling, that's just not realistic. So, she's already drafting job descriptions for two new team members to come on board in 2026. It’s about building the internal structure to support the external growth.
The second goal is all about education. This is the heart and soul of PRMA. The plan isn't just to offer more education, but to make it more relevant to where you are in your career. They're developing learning tracks for different experience levels:
- New to insurance and high-net-worth? There’s a track for you.
- Experienced in insurance but new to HNW? They’ve got you covered.
- A seasoned pro with 10+ years? You’ll get the advanced content you need.
They're even looking at some cool new platforms, like AI sales tools that could act as a personal sales coach. The goal is to create resources so valuable that a company like Marsh, for example, could say, "We'll teach our new hires the Marsh way, but we're also going to lean on what PRMA is doing."
What's on Tap for Next Year? Hint: AI and More Face-Time.
With the New Orleans summit barely in the rearview mirror, they’re already deep into planning for the next one. And they’re listening very closely to what members want.
Diane’s team has been poring over three years' worth of attendee surveys, and one topic keeps coming up again and again: Artificial Intelligence.
"The membership wants more coverage of this broad topic," she said. People are asking the big questions: How will AI help us? How could it hurt us? How are we actually using it right now? It's clear that this needs to be a central theme for the 2026 summit.
The other big focus is managing the event's size to keep it personal. Everyone loves the energy of a big conference, but you can lose the chance for real, meaningful conversations. This year was a lot of panels where experts talked and attendees listened. Next year, they want to change that.
The plan is to have more breakout rooms and smaller sessions. Imagine workshops with just 120 people instead of a giant hall of 200+. This gives you a real chance to ask questions and interact with industry leaders, not just listen to them from afar. It’s a smart way to get the best of both worlds—the buzz of a big event with the intimacy of a smaller one.
Who's Showing Up? A Surprising Shift in the Room.
One of the most interesting things Diane mentioned was a shift in who is attending the summit. This year, for the first time, brokers made up almost half of the attendees. In the past, carriers were the dominant group.
This is by design. PRMA is intentionally creating content to help brokers have better, smarter conversations with their clients. That’s their North Star.
But, as Diane was quick to point out, you can't do that without incredible carrier partners. "The carriers have been phenomenal in their collaboration," she told me. They are consistently providing top-tier thought leaders to help build out the educational content. It’s a true partnership, and it’s a win-win for everyone involved.
The 'Secret Weapon' That Keeps It All Together
At the end of our chat, I asked Diane what energizes her the most about her role. Her answer really gets to the heart of what makes PRMA special.
"I believe I have the best role in the industry," she said, "because I don’t work for any single carrier or broker—I work for all of them."
Her job is to bring competitors into a room and get them to work together for the good of the entire industry. Think about that. On any given day, she might be on a call with folks from Chubb and Private Client Select, or Marsh and Aon, all collaborating on a project. They set aside their company hats and put on their PRMA hats.
That’s where the real magic happens. It's that willingness to say, "we're all in this together, and we'll all be better for it." That spirit of collaboration is the engine driving this incredible growth, and it’s what will keep PRMA thriving for years to come. Honestly, it was inspiring to hear, and it left me feeling incredibly optimistic about where our industry is headed.
