Some of the biggest names in Bermuda?s insurance industry and a headline-grabbing line-up of speakers are set to speak today and tomorrow at a conference organised by the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (Plus)

The ?Plus, The Bermuda Perspective? kicks off this afternoon at the Hamilton Princess with a high-ranking panel including ACE and XL bosses, Brian Duperreault and Brian O?Hara as well as Scott Carmilani, chief executive officer of Allied World Assurance, Ralph Jones of Arch and Geoffrey Smith of Starr Excess Liability.

But the big headline-grabbers are on the second day of the conference, with poacher-turned-gamekeeper Barry Minkow on detecting white collar crime and Fred Barnes, the well-known talking head and executive editor of the Weekly Standard.

Mr. Minkow made headlines for being the youngest person in the US business history to take a company public ? doing it before he was 21 years old.

However, the company was built on fraud and deceit and he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Now he has turned his life around and used his experiences with this fraud and other white-collar crime and criminals to disclose the techniques and methodology used to circumvent due diligence.

So far Mr. Minkow and the Fraud Discovery Institute have uncovered more than $1 billion in prospective fraud in the past eight months.

The second headline speaker is Mr. Barnes, the well-known commentator and analyst of the American political landscape.

In his speeches he challenges audiences to look beyond the obvious and ask hard questions.

He is also the founder and executive editor of The Weekly Standard, a conservative weekly journal on politics and current affairs and the co-host of Fox News Channel?s The Beltway Boys.

He is also a regular panellist on the McLaughlin Group, where his ?cutting wit? make him a must-see political commentator on television, a statement from the conference?s organisers said.

Mr. Barnes is expected to speak on a wide range of topics to include Presidential hopeful John Kerry?s attacks on Bermuda and corporate inversions.

Also this afternoon is a session on ?The Gatekeepers to the Bermuda Market? on the challenges of accessing the Bermuda market from a US, UK and Bermuda brokers? perspective.

The panel will be moderated by consultant Mark Herman, and include seven panellists, including ones from Aon and Marsh.

The final discussion for the day is on what makes the claims process in Bermuda unique. ?Claims on the Rock? will talk about long-standing traditions, fewer regulatory hurdles and punitive damages cover.

The moderator is Keith Hanson of Hanson Peters Nye and panellists are well-known names from ACE, XL, AWAC March and Aon.

Tomorrow a talk on professional lines goes into ?side a? coverage and why Bermuda markets ?are so much more? and what the prospects are for 2004 with Eric Anderson of Aon moderating a seven-man panel.

This is followed by a talk on Sarbanes-Oxley and the ?pleasures and pitfalls? of compliance and the conference finishes with a talk on levelling the excess market.