The insurance and reinsurance community converge on the Fairmont Hamilton Princess Hotel today and tomorrow as more than 30 executives and senior management speakers will debate economic, regulatory and business issues at the he eighth Insurance Day 2014 Summit Bermuda.

This year’s theme is: Connecting innovation in risk and investment to further growth.

Premier Michael Dunkley opens the event this morning after an introduction from conference chair Leila Madeiros, Deputy Director, Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers.

The Premier’s address is focused on “Responding to a changing competitive economy: giving insurance business the structure and framework to thrive”.

The event winds down Wednesday lunch time, but not before a wide variety of subjects will be addressed.

They include: The changing outlook for Bermuda; Reinsurance growth towards 2020; Collateralised reinsurance: balancing 3rd party capital; Catastrophe risk; Building stronger international relationships; The opportunity for innovation; and, Opportunities in emerging and underdeveloped nations.

Insurance Day promote Bermuda as “a celebrated leader in the captives, insurance and reinsurance markets.

“What makes it a market leader are its regulatory framework, a highly developed infrastructure, strong international relations and enviable global reputation. These combined describe Bermuda and make the natural place to support both emerging new asset classes, innovation is risk and underwriting and regulatory compliance.”

Insurance Day bills the Bermuda summit as an essential networking platform for participants to meet and discuss developments of the past twelve months and learn about opportunities and forecast business developments in the coming year. The Summit is an opportunity to hear from, and interact with, all the major insurance industry stakeholders in Bermuda and the US.

One of several keynote speeches is “International regulatory update: Implications for the Bermuda market” by Craig Swan, Managing Director, Supervision, Bermuda Monetary Authority.

It is followed by another, “Sustaining Bermuda’s status as a key financial centre for international business: global competition and future strategies” by Nicholas Bacon, director of International Markets, Nelson Levine de Luca & Hamilton.

The closing keynote Bermuda focus will be “Global competition and Bermuda: outrunning the bear” by Conan Ward, chief executive officer, Hamilton Insurance Companies US.

Two members of Florida’s House of Representatives David Santiago and Kevin Rader join Stephen Weinstein, general counsel and chief compliance officer of RenaissanceRe in a discussion entitled “Weathering Florida’s hurricane and political storms”.

Another panel discussion features “The evolving role of reinsurers in the ILS space: implications for Bermuda”. Participants will look at the role of reinsurers in the area of ILS and how it has evolved and how it will continue to evolve over time.

They include Moderator: Brad Adderley, partner, Appleby; Andre Perez, founder, Horseshoe Group; David Oliveria, partner, Nephila Capital Ltd; and, Rupert Flatscher, head of Risk Trading Unit, Munich Re. Editor of Insurance Day Michael Faulkner will moderate.

Another panel discussion will be “Innovation across underwriting models: from operations, data, and social media to new technology innovation to create a competitive insurer advantage.

Insurance Day deputy editor Sophie Roberts will moderate a reinsurance session that includes Argo Re president Matthew Wilken, XL Group International Property & Specialty Division of Bermuda Reinsurance plc managing director and senior vice-president Mark Berry.

They will discuss underwriting risks, flexibility, innovation, new technologies, social media and efficiencies among other topics.