Shannon Lowry Bender, deputy chairwoman of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers’ policy committee, is to represent the island’s leading international re/insurers at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners International Insurance Forum this month in Washington DC.

Ms Bender, EVP, group general counsel and corporate secretary of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd, will speak in the opening C-suite panel on “Opportunities and Challenges for the Road Ahead”, a discussion that will touch on how insurers can continue to provide relevant products and services in a fast-changing world.

She will share the stage with Andrew McMahon, CEO and president, The Guardian Life Insurance Company; Julie McPeak, senior vice-president, general counsel-insurance, USAA; and moderator Chlora Lindley-Myers, NAIC president and director, Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Craig Swan, CEO of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, is also a panellist at the event and will participate in a discussion on “Mind the Gaps — Removing Barriers to Adequate Insurance”.

The forum, to be held May 18-19, is the NAIC’s flagship annual event. The association is the US standard-setting and regulatory support organisation created and governed by the country’s chief insurance regulators from the 50 US states, the District of Columbia and five US territories.

The NAIC has approved Bermuda as a reciprocal jurisdiction and a qualified jurisdiction, a status that gives Bermuda re/insurers eligibility for reduced collateral requirements and more efficient access into the US insurance market.

John Huff, CEO of Abir, said Bermuda has been a trusted re/insurance trading partner of the US for decades.

Since 1997, Bermuda re/insurers have paid out close to half a trillion dollars in claims to US policyholders and cedants, payments that have supported US consumers and businesses in their times of need.