“While nothing can replace in-person meetings, the NetVU staff and volunteers deserve praise for executing a high-impact event over seven weeks under challenging circumstances,” says Dean Giem, NetVU board chair and principal of Paradox Insurance Agency. “Even though NetVU members were separated by distance, we were drawn together in the spirit of improving the independent agency channel through technology.”
Individuals from 746 organizations — including agencies, carriers, third-party administrators and other service providers — participated in over 200 sessions.
“We made the decision to pivot to a virtual event last fall, which gave us plenty of runway to execute a more sophisticated online experience compared to 2020 for our users — and allowed us to experiment,” says Jon Gorman, NetVU executive director. “Doing a virtual event obviously introduced many more variables that created challenges, but based on the number of registrations we received, the demand for this content and this event remains strong.”
This year’s agenda featured a Kickoff Week, Carrier Week, on-demand educational sessions and live discussions — all designed to help NetVU members get the most of their Vertafore systems and grow their businesses. Participants included agency principals, producers, customer service reps and other staff.
“Each year NetVU goes above and beyond to create a dynamic event for Vertafore users, and this year’s participation demonstrates how much our user community values the time to learn and grow together,” says Cassidy Smirnow, chief revenue officer at Vertafore. “Thanks go out to all of the NetVU volunteers and Vertafore team members who delivered an unprecedented number of sessions to help our users power their possible.”
“I think Accelerate gave everyone the tools, knowledge and inspiration they need to emerge from the pandemic even stronger,” says Joyce Sigler, board chair-elect and account executive at Jones & Wenner/SeibertKeck. “Having a network of peers through NetVU has helped us through some tough times. We’ve lifted each other up and the success of this year’s conference demonstrates our resolve to be even better.”
Next year’s Accelerate is scheduled for March 26-31, 2022, in Denver, Colorado.
About NetVU
The Network of Vertafore Users (NetVU) is an independent, national member organization committed to providing industry advocacy, world-class education, and networking to more than 20,000 insurance agencies, over 1,000 carriers, and 23 state governments. NetVU members reside in every state and are supported by over 35 local and virtual chapters led by members.
About Vertafore
As North America’s insurtech leader for more than 50 years, Vertafore is modernizing and simplifying insurance distribution so that our customers can focus on what matters most: people. Vertafore’s solutions provide end-to-end connectivity, improve the client and agent experience, unlock the power of data, and streamline essential workflows to drive efficiency, productivity, and profitability for independent agencies and carriers. For more information about Vertafore, visit www.vertafore.com.