The inaugural Bermuda Insurance Underwriting Conference next month will be a conference with a difference, organisers are promising.Rather than the industry overviews and CEO speeches offered by the typical Bermuda insurance conference, this one will focus mainly on the nitty-gritty of what is going on in the various lines of international insurance underwriting, as well as the emerging risks insurers and brokers are dealing with.The two-day event will be staged by the Bermuda Insurance Institute (BII) at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on September 14 and 15. Premier Paula Cox will deliver the opening remarks.The BII’s remit is to foster educational, training and networking opportunities for the development of talent to support the needs of Bermuda’s insurance and reinsurance industry. BII president John Wight said the idea to stage the Bermuda Insurance Underwriting Conference came from brainstorming on how best the organisation could serve the evolving needs of its membership.“We want to see debate among the leading practitioners in different lines, with the hope of driving it to the level of creating thought leadership,” said conference chairman Roger Gillett.“Everyone should come away from this with something significant that they’ve learned, no matter what level they are.”Subject matter will include the state of the Bermuda market response to emerging risks and product life cycles in lines including excess liability, professional liability and property insurance. The latest developments in healthcare and political risks insurance will also be highlighted.Senior vice-president and department managers from insurers and brokers will lead the discussions and Mr Gillett said he hoped to see plenty of delegate participation.The target audience comprises underwriters, brokers, claims managers and affiliated support staff.Mr Wight said participants were predominantly local, though a couple of specialist speakers were coming in from overseas. If successful, he said the conference stood to become an annual event, with the potential for more international participation.The conference will conclude on the second afternoon with a round-table discussion on the steps practitioners can take to help keep Bermuda competitive. This will be followed by a networking reception.Response from the industry has been positive and organisers are confident that the conference, which has the capacity for 100 delegates, will be fully subscribed.Mr Gillett said the event had met its sponsorship targets. so allowing registration prices to be kept down. Admission prices are $250 per person for BII members and $375 for non-members. A group rate of $50 lower than those prices is available to groups of five or more people. Only advance registrations will be accepted. There will be no registrations at the door.Doors open on September 14 and 15 at 8.30am and sessions run through until 4pm. Lunch is provided.For more information, or to register for the conference, contact Julie Preece at the Bermuda Insurance Institute on 295-1596, or visit the website at www.bii.bm