The good and great of the reinsurance sector descend upon Bermuda for the 21st International Reinsurance Congress, which starts today.

The 2007 congress, which is the longest established and one of the most successful industry events for experts in the insurance and reinsurance field, is being hosted by Hawksmere at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess from today until Friday.

Among matters up for debate are the latest market information and trends and there will be the chance to thrash out the critical challenges facing the reinsurance industry, looking at the current state of the international reinsurance industry, how it has to change and adapt and the impact of the emerging markets such as China and Dubai on Bermuda and the global sector.

Topping the bill will be Minister of Education, Sports and Recreation, Randolph Horton, who will give a welcoming address on the first day, assisted by chairman Andrew Barile, the president and CEO of Andrew Barile Consulting Corporation Inc.

The first seminar will ask the question of 'Can Bermuda sustain more growth in reinsurance?' and will consider how the industry has developed and transformed, what is it doing at the moment and how is it reacting to a benign hurricane season, the death of hurricanes and a flood of new capital market capacity and shifting domiciles from London to Bermuda and the US.

Next up will be 'Reinsurance capital formation by hedge funds and other alternative capital arrangements', which will provide an insight into the first time capital markets have been involved in reinsurance, the recently passed Florida Insurance Legislation and the knock-on effects and regulation and rating agencies in capital adequacy.

On Thursday Fred Marziano, president of Insurance Perspectives & Solutions, and Geoffrey Etherington, partner of the insurance and reinsurance department of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, will take to the floor to discuss the subject of 'Expansion' in the reinsurance market.

That will be proceeded by 'Emerging new markets - enter the dragon' - a look at the Chinese reinsurance market and its future growth potential, regulation and transparency, how its has changed, new companies setting up there and other countries to consider including India and Singapore.

The second day concludes with a series of workshops aimed at the 'Recent developments in US and UK reinsurance law', facilitated by Susan Stone, Kenneth Wylie and Patricia Petrowski, all partners of Sidley Austin LLP, and 'EU reinsurance directives', tackling the subject of the implementation of solvency and reinsurance directives.

The two hot topics for the final day will be 'Enterprise risk management', hosted by Mark Seiger, partner of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodger, and 'Run-off - coming of age', chaired by Philip Singer, CEO of Tawa Associates.

Previous participants have included the likes of ArielRe, Aon Re Renaissance Re, the Bermuda Insurance Market, Aspen Re, Endurance Re, ACE Tempest Re, the Bank of New York, Hannover Re, Willis Re, the Bank of Bermuda, Standard & Poor's, the National Australia Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, KPMG, Deloitte & Touche and Ernst & Young,