The re/insurance industry faces a whole new set of changes and challenges amid the current economic crisis and emerging risks.

That is the view of Dan Grady, insurance and reinsurance partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Bermuda, who will be speaking at the fourth annual Standard & Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) and PricewaterhouseCoopers Re/insurance conference held at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess on November 12 to 13.

The conference will focus on 'Finding the Upside of Financial Turbulence', with the various panels looking at the risks, challenges and opportunities within the current operating environment, as well as the issues that have been re-shaping the competitive landscape.

"As we come together in our fourth year, we're further building on this opportunity to deliver unique insights and viewpoints as we've so successfully done in the past " said Mr. Grady. "Our industry is facing a remarkable set of circumstances that will no doubt change and challenge its approach to conducting business on both a macro and micro level for years to come.

"We're looking forward to a robust discussion of front-of-mind issues, such as managing through economic turbulence, identifying and addressing risks as they emerge, and developing a strategic position that enables growth while maintaining strong operating standards."

Topics on the agenda include investment risk, the evolving global regulatory landscape, emerging risks, capital management, mergers and acquisitions, and the catastrophe season/modelling.

"The impact of investment losses stemming from the current financial crisis has caused many industry participants to look both internally and externally at the dynamics of and mechanisms in place for risk management and how this relates to capital and asset management, as well as day-to-day operations across their entire enterprise," said Grace Osborne, managing director and North American head of S&P's Insurance Ratings Services. "With this platform for discussion, we've again taken a close look at the current environment to identify key issues and concerns that may impact the industry going forward."

Among some of the main speakers will be Albert Benchimol, executive vice-president and chief financial officer at PartnerRe Ltd., Joseph Consolino, executive vice-president and chief financial officer at Validus Holdings Ltd., Jeremy Cox, deputy CEO of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Brad Kading, president and executive director of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, Ricky Lines, senior vice-president and chief financial officer of Oil Insurance Ltd., Joe Roberts, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Max Capital Group Ltd., and Jacob Rosengarten, executive vice-president and chief enterprise risk officer of XL Capital Ltd.

A full agenda and registration form are available at www.bermudareinsurance2009.com