Bermuda's insurance industry will make its presence felt when the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Conference gets under way in Orlando today.

Thousands of risk managers from global corporations will mingle with representatives of insurance companies at one of the largest events on the industry's calendar.

Bermuda, like many rival jurisdictions, will have its own booth in the Orange County Convention Center. Both Premier Ewart Brown, who is scheduled to arrive in Florida today, and Finance Minister Paula Cox will represent the Island at the event.

Financial regulator the Bermuda Monetary Authority will have a representative at RIMS, and several Bermuda insurers and their US subsidiaries have sent teams to network and pitch their products in the exhibition hall.

The event will be staged against the backdrop of an economic downturn that has seen both insurance companies and their customers suffer.

Massive investment losses have wiped out billions of dollars of insurance industry capacity over the past eight months, a factor that insurers hope will herald a hardening market.

But risk managers will be looking to help their companies cut expenses by trimming their insurance bills.

The likelihood of tighter insurance regulation in response to the financial crisis is also likely to be a talking point.