International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) president Patrick de La Morinerie confirmed Hurricane Katrina would receive special prominence at its annual conference in Amsterdam on Monday 19 September.
More than 500 marine underwriters from around the world are expected to attend the three-day conference.
De La Morinerie was unwilling to give an approximation of insurance losses during next week's event, predicting it would take several months before a complete picture of the devastation and its consequences emerged.
However, IUMI's energy and offshore committee is expected to provide an update on the effects Katrina has had on this specialised area of insurance during the conference.
De La Morinerie said Katrina was a wake-up call to the market, which had recently experienced a softening of premium rates and resolve.
He said Katrina should kick-start a hardening of rates in the market's mainstreams, driven inevitably by higher reinsurance and catastrophe retrocession costs.
Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
