The gathering at Auckland Zoo featured presentations from experts across economics, law, technology, and insurance, aimed at helping attendees navigate shifting risk exposures and client expectations.
The insurer positioned the event as a platform to build broker capability in anticipating long-term changes across the industry.
General manager Dinesh Murali said the capacity to adapt is becoming critical in the face of rising complexity.
“In an evolving world, curiosity and adaptability are powerful tools to keep up with changes. As an industry , it’s important we stay open to change, navigate complexity with confidence, and be prepared for what the future may bring,” he said.
Opening the program, futurist Victoria Mulligan outlined macrotrends likely to shape consumer behaviour and business models in New Zealand over the next decade.
She pointed to growing reliance on personalised health technology, changing work-life structures, and the ethical implications of digitalisation as factors that could disrupt conventional insurance frameworks.
“Advances in personalised health and wellbeing tech are creating new customer needs and complex ethical considerations, topped with changes in work-life patterns that are disrupting traditional insurance pathways,” Mulligan said.
Her presentation encouraged brokers to engage with weak signals in the market and to use systems thinking to identify new risk clusters.
Later in the day, economist Tony Alexander delivered a session on global economic pressures, including how geopolitical friction has reshaped trade dynamics.
“The world trade and economic outlook has been thrown into turmoil as a result of the tariff war initiated by President Trump,” he said. “Businesses should exercise caution with regard to cash flow projections until we get far greater clarity on how the unwinding of parts of the global trading system will affect us.”
Murali closed the event by noting that building foresight and resilience remains essential for brokers navigating heightened volatility.
“[Delta Talks] reminded us that the future must be approached with both insight and prudence, especially in light of current economic headwinds and broader uncertainties. Delta Talks 2025 was about more than education – it was about empowering brokers to thrive,” he said.
In tandem with the conference, Delta issued commentary identifying heightened exposures among New Zealand’s small and mid-sized enterprises. The firm pointed to cost pressures, compliance complexity, and gaps in internal capacity as factors increasing business risk.
Delta advised brokers to guide their SME clients through comprehensive risk reviews and to consider management liability coverage as a practical safeguard. The insurer explained that such policies provide bundled protection across several risk domains under a single policy, tailored for smaller organisations.
