Finance Minister Paula Cox will set out her vision for a globally competitive Bermuda insurance market tomorrow morning, when her keynote address opens the inaugural Insurance Day Summit Bermuda.

The two-day event at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess will also feature a string of major players from the insurance and reinsurance industry, including RenaissanceRe chief executive officer Neill Currie, Catlin chairman Stephen Catlin and Argus president and CEO Gerald Simons.

Mr. Simons' speech will address the issue of how to boost the Island's intellectual capital to meet the needs of the Bermuda market, and will include comment on the state of public and private education locally.

Mr. Catlin will focus on the relationship between the London and Bermuda markets — a topic that a panel will also discuss tomorrow afternoon — while Mr. Currie will look at opportunities ahead for the Island and lessons learned over the past 15 years.

The question of how increased interaction with the capital markets will affect the market will be discussed by a panel including Max Re CEO Marston Becker and Harbor Point Re chief underwriting officer Greg Richardson. And Barney Schauble, a principal with Bermuda hedge fund Nephila Capital will discuss the issue further tomorrow afternoon.

On Wednesday, one of the highlights will be a panel discussion on how more regulation can be applied without damaging Bermuda's competitive position. Among those on the panel will be Shelby Weldon, director of compliance, insurance, at the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

James Veghte, CEO of XL Reinsurance America, will lead a panel discussion, looking at the question of whether terrorism coverage can be successfully underwritten without TRIAE, the US government's terror insurance backstop, due to expire at the end of this year.

Validus Holdings CFO Joseph Consolino will examine the influence of rating agencies, while Ace's chief accounting officer Paul Medini will look at the implications of proposed changes to international accounting standards.

Insurance Day, a leading publication and web-site for industry news, staged its first summit in May last year in London.

"The aim was to appeal to high-level senior and executive management in London and the Bermuda summit will be in a similar vein," said conference director Giovanni Zappulo.

"We try to keep things topical — which is quite a challenge when you're planning it six to eight months out. We talk a lot to people in the industry to make sure we covering what should be covered.

"We also try to make sure we feature a certain number of industry leaders, to give the event more gravitas."

Registration and breakfast starts at 7.30 tomorrow morning, followed by Bermuda Insurance Development Council chairman Roger Gillet delivering the opening remarks at 8.20 a.m.