Hurricane Katrina, reinsurance and increased regulatory scrutiny will be among the issues under the limelight at tomorrow?s third annual Hot Topics Seminar for the Bermuda Insurance Market

?We are partnering with PWC which adds a different slant to it and there will be two presentations dealing with reinsurance issues whereas in the past the focus was more on direct business,? said Bermudian seminar organiser Mark Chudleigh, who is a lawyer with Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP in London.

James Pilgrim-Morris, Special Counsel in Sedgwick?s London office, will address current ?hot topics? in reinsurance coverage including recent English decisions that are also likely to be followed in Bermuda. He will also speak to the unique reinsurance coverage issues that have occurred as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

A panel session will address reinsurance audits which, while routinely carried out by reinsurers, are being used with increasing frequency in the ?age of transparency?. The panel, moderated by Key Coleman, a director of PWC based in Chicago and panel members include Simon Lambert, a director with PWC Bermuda, Andrew Ward, a director with PWC Philadelphia and Sedgwick lawyers, Evan Smith and Mark Chudleigh, based respectively in Sedgwick?s Chicago and London offices, will also look at all phases of the reinsurance relationship from pre-underwriting reviews through to contentious audits in the context of disputes.

This year one of Sedgwick?s most senior trial lawyers Greg Read, who is a former President of the International Association of Defence Counsel (IADC), will share his experience of modern trial techniques that are being used by plaintiffs and defendants to anticipate outcomes and jury verdicts in high stakes cases. Such approaches including the use of jury consultants, mock trials and shadow juries will be of interest to insurers who are ultimately the ones picking up bills when the verdicts go the wrong way, Mr. Chudleigh said.

Matt Scavo, a director in PWC?s Chicago office, will speak to how US and Bermuda insurers are enhancing their compliance programmes following a spate of new state and federal compliance rules.

Mr. Chudleigh said the subject will be particularly relevant to the several Bermuda carriers that have been subjected to formal and informal inquiries from US regulators

?He?ll be dealing with the things companies need to do to to be sure they are able to deal with the requests coming in from US regulators and how to get their affairs in order to ensure they are able to meet the various inquiries that are coming through,? Mr. Chudleigh said.

With potential liabilities on the increase and claims expenses at record levels, Randy Miller, a partner in Sedgwick?s Los Angeles office and chair of the firm?s Professional Liability Group, will speak about the increasing exposure of US lawyers and their insurers to legal malpractice claims and how litigation defence lawyers are working to defeat these claims.

Tom Brusstar, a partner in Sedgwick?s Chicago office, will discuss how defendants and their insurers are confronting large settlement awards in mass tort and other cases while Erica Battaglia, a partner in Sedgwick?s Chicago office, will talk about continued efforts to control inflationary damages awards in the medical malpractice arena.

Attendance is limited to members of the Bermuda insurance industry who have pre-registered for the afternoon seminar at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.