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Protectors Vegas 2026: AI takes a back seat at carrier-led sessions

If previous conferences from this year are any indication, AI is likely to be plastered on every booth at the upcoming Protectors conference. However, the carrier-led sessions appear to offer a healthy return to discussion around L&A fundamentals. The recurring theme this year is distribution and growth.

This year's sessions offer vendors the opportunity to:

  1. meet carriers where they are
  2. understand the language they're using to talk about the challenges they're facing
  3. glimpse into existing relationships

This article unpacks the 46 carrier speakers on stage, what they'll be talking about, and with whom.

About the conference

Protectors Vegas runs Nov 9–11, 2026 at The Venetian in Las Vegas. It's the first year of the show and organizers expect 1,000+ attendees.

It's organized by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), a 100+ year old advocacy and education group.

For a full list of companies attending the conference, fill out a request to Protectors here.

Who's in the room

45 of the 237 companies sponsoring or speaking are carriers. The carriers sponsoring or speaking at Protectors write about half of US life and annuity premium.

Sponsor and speakSpeak onlySponsor onlyCompaniesTech & data vendorsTech & data vendors: 18 sponsor and speakTech & data vendors: 21 speak onlyTech & data vendors: 26 sponsor only65CarriersCarriers: 17 sponsor and speakCarriers: 16 speak onlyCarriers: 12 sponsor only45Services & consultantsServices & consultants: 4 sponsor and speakServices & consultants: 27 speak onlyServices & consultants: 11 sponsor only42IMOs, FMOs & BGAsIMOs, FMOs & BGAs: 4 sponsor and speakIMOs, FMOs & BGAs: 19 speak onlyIMOs, FMOs & BGAs: 5 sponsor only28Advisors, agencies & RIAsAdvisors, agencies & RIAs: 0 sponsor and speakAdvisors, agencies & RIAs: 20 speak onlyAdvisors, agencies & RIAs: 0 sponsor only20Associations & policyAssociations & policy: 4 sponsor and speakAssociations & policy: 7 speak onlyAssociations & policy: 3 sponsor only14Capital & asset managersCapital & asset managers: 3 sponsor and speakCapital & asset managers: 6 speak onlyCapital & asset managers: 1 sponsor only10ReinsurersReinsurers: 0 sponsor and speakReinsurers: 2 speak onlyReinsurers: 0 sponsor only2Other (incl. MGAs)Other (incl. MGAs): 3 sponsor and speakOther (incl. MGAs): 4 speak onlyOther (incl. MGAs): 4 sponsor only11Total237

Who the carrier speakers are

Top 50 carriers mostly send VPs and SVPs; smaller carriers send their C-suiteCarrier speakers by seniority, split by the carrier's 2025 L&A premium rank.C-suite & presidentsEVP, SVP & headsVP & AVPDirector, manager & otherTop 50 carriers27 speakersTop 50 carriers, C-suite & presidents: 3 of 27 speakers (11%)11%Top 50 carriers, EVP, SVP & heads: 7 of 27 speakers (26%)26%Top 50 carriers, VP & AVP: 10 of 27 speakers (37%)37%Top 50 carriers, Director, manager & other: 7 of 27 speakers (26%)26%Carriers ranked 51+19 speakersCarriers ranked 51+, C-suite & presidents: 13 of 19 speakers (68%)68%Carriers ranked 51+, EVP, SVP & heads: 3 of 19 speakers (16%)16%Carriers ranked 51+, VP & AVP: 2 of 19 speakers (11%)11%Carriers ranked 51+, Director, manager & other: 1 of 19 speakers (5%)
Distribution and sales is the largest department among carrier speakersThe 46 carrier speakers by department, from their listed titles.Distribution & salesDistribution & sales: 15 of 46 speakers (33%)15 · 33%General managementGeneral management: 10 of 46 speakers (22%)10 · 22%Product & pricingProduct & pricing: 8 of 46 speakers (17%)8 · 17%Underwriting, claims, actuarialUnderwriting, claims, actuarial: 5 of 46 speakers (11%)5 · 11%Data, AI & digitalData, AI & digital: 4 of 46 speakers (9%)4 · 9%Advanced marketsAdvanced markets: 4 of 46 speakers (9%)4 · 9%

When and where to find carriers on stage

  • Carriers speak in 32 of the 101 published sessions.
  • Palazzo A hosts the most carrier-led sessions on Tuesday (4 of 16).
  • On Wednesday carrier sessions are spread across Palazzo B, C and D (3 each).
Carriers share the stage in 24 of their 32 sessionsThe 101 sessions with named speakers, by which kinds of company are on stage. Each number is a count of sessions.Carriers: 32Tech vendors: 44Everyone else: 72Carrier: 8 sessions8Carriers onlyvendor: 20 sessions20Vendors onlyothers: 37 sessions37Others onlyCarrier + vendor: 1 sessions1Carrier + others: 12 sessions12vendor + others: 12 sessions12Carrier + vendor + others: 11 sessions11All threeEveryone else = (sessions they are in)Consultants & services28IMOs, FMOs & BGAs25Advisors, agencies & RIAs19Associations & policy12Other (incl. MGAs)9Capital & asset managers6Reinsurers4A session can feature more than one type.

It is undeniable that AI will be discussed in most of these sessions. However, it's likely to surface as a tool rather than as the central topic of conversation. For example, only 2 of the 15 distribution and growth themed sessions even mention it in the description.

Distribution and growth lead the carrier agenda on Tuesday and WednesdayThe 32 carrier sessions by day and theme.051015SessionsMon Nov 9 · Long-term care (Long-term care): 33Mon Nov 9Tue Nov 10 · Industry outlook and distribution (Distribution and growth): 33Tue Nov 10 · Practice growth and sales tactics (Distribution and growth): 11Tue Nov 10 · Producer growth and agent tools (Distribution and growth): 11Tue Nov 10 · Client relationships and cross-sell (Distribution and growth): 11Tue Nov 10 · Product and market innovation (Distribution and growth): 11Tue Nov 10 · Practical AI adoption (AI and technology): 33Tue Nov 10 · Technology and infrastructure (AI and technology): 22Tue Nov 10 · Business-owner and estate planning (Business-owner and estate planning): 22Tue Nov 10 · Long-term care (Long-term care): 11Tue Nov 10 · Plenary (track) (Plenary): 1116Tue Nov 10Wed Nov 11 · Industry outlook and distribution (Distribution and growth): 22Wed Nov 11 · Practice growth and sales tactics (Distribution and growth): 22Wed Nov 11 · Producer growth and agent tools (Distribution and growth): 22Wed Nov 11 · Client relationships and cross-sell (Distribution and growth): 11Wed Nov 11 · Product and market innovation (Distribution and growth): 11Wed Nov 11 · Technology and infrastructure (AI and technology): 11Wed Nov 11 · Enterprise AI (AI and technology): 11Wed Nov 11 · Business-owner and estate planning (Business-owner and estate planning): 22Wed Nov 11 · Retirement and Social Security (Retirement): 1113Wed Nov 11Distribution and growth15Industry outlook and distribution5Practice growth and sales tactics3Producer growth and agent tools3Client relationships and cross-sell2Product and market innovation2AI and technology7Practical AI adoption3Technology and infrastructure3Enterprise AI1Business-owner and estate planning4Long-term care4Retirement1Retirement and Social Security1Plenary1

Carriers and vendors on one stage

Which vendors share a stage with a carrier?

Sharing the stage with other entities is an indication of openness to collaboration as well as existing relationships. Prudential, OneAmerica Financial, and Malibu Life all share the stage with 5+ vendors. On the other side, Chris Orestis, the President of Retirement Genius, shares the stage with 5 carriers.

This table organizes the sessions by carrier so that you can quickly find who will be talking on stage and where. All sessions are published on the Protectors site.

Carrier session finder
Every session with a carrier on stage. Click a column to sort, a carrier to open its people and sessions.
32 carriers · 32 sessions
Carrier ↕︎Premium 2025 ▼Sessions ↕︎Stage mix ↕︎Theme group ↕︎Theme ↕︎Location ↕︎

Takeaways

  • Analysis of the 32 carrier-led sessions shows that the discussions at Protectors this year will be centered on distribution and growth rather than AI grandstanding.
  • If you're a vendor, see Recommended sessions under the session finder for two picks per focus area.
  • This report was produced about 10 days before the conference. Even as we were editing new sessions were added and others dropped. Consult the Protectors agenda for the latest.

Find the right people, not just the right sessions

Conferences are about building relationships and making connections. Good preparation is critical to getting your money's worth from the show. DealSurface is exceptional at finding the right people for you to engage with meaningful conversations.

Reach out to turn a Protectors attendee list into a meeting list in about 20 minutes, with a short personal note for each person.

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Protectors Vegas 2026: AI takes a back seat at carrier-led sessions | DealSurface