Finite risk will be the controversial subject under scrutiny when Advisen?s principal insurance analyst David Bradford lands in Bermuda next month to lead two seminars for the Bermuda Insurance Institute.

With regulators in the US, UK, Australia and Ireland, including New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and the SEC, currently investigating whether companies have used finite reinsurance to manipulate their financial statements, Julie Preece Director of Education and Training at the BII said the seminar has already captured interest from many.

?We have generated quite a bit of response for it because people are interested in learning more on a totally unbiased basis,? she said adding that the seminar will be purely factual rather than to take any particular view on the subject.

Mr. Bradford is executive vice president and editor-in-chief as well as a co-founder of Advisen. He leads the Research and Editorial Department.and is the editor-in-chief of Advisen?s various publications including the annual RIMS Benchmark Survey, produced in partnership with the Risk and Insurance Management Society. Prior to founding Advisen in 2000, he spent 20 years in the reinsurance industry in underwriting, marketing and strategy development roles, most recently as Senior Vice President with Swiss Re where he led the Global and National Division, a $375 million profit centre with a client base comprised of the 40 largest multi-national insurance groups.

Beyond explaining exactly what finite is and how it works, he will review the history of the investigations, discuss how the situation is likely to unfold and explore the impact it will have on the insurance industry.

His discussion will take into account that the regulatory and legal scrutiny has continued to widen as finite risk has been implicated in major insurance company failures including HIH, Australia?s largest insurance company, Taisei Fire & Marine Insurance Co., and Reciprocal of America. He will also speak to what the future holds for finite risk and reinsurance. Recent revelations have pointed to Supercat treaties as a potential new area of focus.