The current global financial crisis was the focus for delegates at a top reinsurance conference held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel yesterday.

Among the topics up for debate were the trends and issues impacting the reinsurance industry at the moment, including the fallout from the sub-prime and credit crisis and the economic turmoil.

Other discussions featured planning for the future for underwriters, US regulatory changes and development, investing in Lloyd's of London and Solvency II.

Leila Madeiros, vice-president and corporate secretary of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, who was chairing the conference, said the event's title 'Where to from here — what next for the reinsurance industry?' was particularly relevant in today's market.

"I don't think that even the conference organisers who selected the theme some months ago, could have anticipated the events of the last few weeks," she said.

"The events of the last few weeks have overtaken the world in a way that is unprecedented and whilst some have made reference to the likes of the great depression, the more the saga unfolds and when all the dust has settled and the economists and historians of the world look back and begin to write volumes about what happened, why it happened, I believe that it will be described as an economic event unlike the world has ever experienced before.

"Much has already been written but what is clear is that these events are still unfolding and it will be sometime before the dust settles and we have a firmer understanding of it all."

But she said there were a number of opportunities to come out of these tough times for Bermuda's re/insurance sector, pointing to how the Island's market has responded to challenges over the past 20 years, starting in the mid-1980s with the difficulty in obtaining professional lines coverage in the US, through to responding to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the World Trade Centre 9/11 event and Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in 2005.

"Bermuda's insurers and reinsurers meet global market needs in significant ways both in the US and in Europe (Bermuda is the largest property cat reinsurance market supplying 40 percent of the US and EU (European Union) market, has a growing casualty market, supplies 25 percent of the US medical malpractice, 25 percent of the Lloyds 2007 capacity)," she said.

"How does Bermuda work to meet market needs? By being a convenient centre for a global platform, its unique location, by meeting international regulatory standards in a way that is efficient and focused on a wholesale market, by having a diverse talented underwriting pool and a supportive government."

Mark Seiger, Daniel Gerber and Thomas Segalla, all partners at Goldberg Segalla LLP, and Maureen O'Connor, from Travelers Insurance, and Jesse Dunbar, of Aspen Re, then talked about the potential effect of the sub-prime mortgage debacle on re/insurers and expectations for the future.

They also tackled the issue of bad faith implications resulting from the primary/excess/reinsurer relationship and the movement for including a mediation clause or alternative dispute resolution wording in reinsurance contracts to avoid the cost of arbitrations and/or litigation.