A special ceremony last night honoured insurance industry professionals who have earned their Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter CPCU designation.

Patrice Hill, the chairwoman of new designees for the Institutes CPCU Society’s Bermuda chapter, called the gathering at the Bermuda National Gallery “a little celebration for the individuals who worked hard to earn this premiere insurance industry designation”.

Obtaining the qualification takes eight examinations covering topics such as risk management, business law, finance and accounting, insurance operations, financial planning and property-liability insurance.

The CPCU designation is widely considered one of the top designations offered in the insurance industry, Ms Hill said.

She added: “The exams are known for their difficulty.”

Maria Laila Burke of the Bermuda Monetary Authority took the top grades.

Others in the CPCU “class of 2018” were Shadae Burchall of Tokio Millennium Re, Sophie Francis at TigerRisk Partners, Matthew Kemmenoe of Ironshore, Alina Kozlovska of Hannover Reinsurance Limited, Bartolome Massot Cristono of Quest Management, Janette Moniz of HSBC Bank Bermuda, Serena Todd of XL Bermuda, Greg van der Made of Third Point Re, Assata Wedderburn of Aon Risk Services, Christopher Wright of Validus Re — and Donavan Burgess of XL Bermuda, who obtained the designation last year but was unable to make the 2017 ceremony.