RenRe CEO Jim Stanard spoke of building “the best management team period”, something he cited as a slow, careful process: “Instilling the (RenRe business) culture is key and our brainwashing machine is only a two seater.”

Jay Nichols, president of Renaissance Underwriting Managers, speaking of DaVinci Re, the joint venture RenRe set up with other investors after September 11: “It went from white board to incorporated in 64 days.”

Running through some of his company's advantages, which could maximise returns, Partner Re CEO Patrick Thiele, read through a presentation slide that listed Underwriting Excellence, Strategic Capital Allocation, Tactical Capital Allocation and the Bermuda Advantage.

What's that? “A code word for a slightly better tax rate over a cycle than for our competitors,” he said.

IPC Re CEO James Bryce speaking of events that could have impacted property/catastrophe insurers in the third quarter ending on September 30, said: “I call the third quarter the very wet quarter - there was flooding in Europe, thyphoons, floods in Korea, China...”

And speaking of the increasing number of flailing European insurers, Mr. Bryce said: “A year ago if anyone said Munich Re or Swiss Re would be downgraded, they may have been fitted with a white coat with long sleeves. But the unbelievable has happened...”

Peter Minton of Max Re, talking about the company's move to a business model of more traditional insurance products rather than relying on investment returns, showed charts of the Initial Max Re and the Current Max Re. And he summed up the move as a straightforward exercise: “We dialled down a bit on the asset risk.”

Max Re CEO Robert Cooney said his company, which completed its private placement in December 1999 and its IPO in August 2001, had a “proven ability to preserve capital in difficult times,” but he added: “Playing defence is not as much fun as playing offence.”

With a new focus on returns from liabilities, rather than assets, Mr. Cooney spoke of the company's move into alternative risk transfer (ART): “That's our sweet spot, our target zone,” he said.