The 18th Annual International Reinsurance Congress will open at the Fairmont Hamilton tomorrow afternoon with a keynote address on Market Shock by author, Harvard economics teacher and former White House director of economic policy Todd Buchholz.

Organisers of the three-day conference have focused this year?s event on how to capitalise on the recent dramatic changes in market conditions. As usual, the panel of speakers includes senior executives from the worldwide reinsurance industry together with professional advisers and other leading experts.

Tomorrow afternoon?s panel on The Future of the Reinsurance Industry will be moderated by Kathryn McIntyre, former editor and publisher of Business Insurance Magazine.

On Thursday, CEO of GE Insurance Solutions Ron Pressman will give the keynote address followed by panel reviews of Legal Developments from Both Sides of the Atlantic and Regulatory Developments Across the Globe. Thursday afternoon is dedicated to four workshops. The first will examine A Tale of Two Cities: Reinsurance Arbitration Issues in New York, London and Hamilton. Bermuda Captives Update will examine the effect of Segregated Accounts Companies on the ?rent-a-captive? sector, what will happen if the Democrats win the White House and Bermuda versus other ?offshore jurisdictions?. ?Soft and Hard Landings ? a Workshop on Reinsurance Exit Strategies will examine the pros and cons of strategic options, as well as UK, US and European schemes and lessons for insolvency in the US and UK. A final workshop will examine Reinsurance Security and Collateral.

The Friday programme will include a discussion lead by Sarah Goddard of Global Reinsurance Magazine on recent changes in the marketplace and analysis why they happened.