Six students — four from Bermuda and two from Chicago — have been given a glimpse of the island’s insurance industry during a three-week internship.

The Intro-to-Insurance summer programme, run by the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies, allowed the group to shadow professionals such as underwriters, actuaries and brokers.

The Bermudian students who participated in the programme, which ends this week, are Anna Harrington, studying financial economics at the University of Western Ontario; Megan Knight, a maths student from the University of St Andrews in Scotland; Aaron Nelson, a business graduate from the University of Hertfordshire in England; and Katie Stevenson, a soon to be globalisation graduate from the University of Western Ontario. They were joined by two students from Illinois State University — Judy Cheng, studying actuarial science, and Emily Tomaszewki, studying business administration.

“I chose to do BFIS mainly because I wanted to get my foot in the door in the insurance industry and move home, obviously because its such a significant part of the business world here,” said 21-year-old Stevenson. Ms Tomaszewski, 21, is spending her first time out of the US. “The internship has been great so far, we’ve got to see a lot of sides of the insurance industry, seeing lawyers and actuaries and underwriters so I think that’s been very helpful,” she said. “In the future I’m hoping to work as an insurance broker or underwriter in Chicago where I’m from. I’ve really been enjoying it in Bermuda, its very pretty here.”

The group gathered at R & Q Quest, an independent captive management company, based in Bermuda. Vice-president and head of Latin America, Daniel Message said: “The work that BFIS and its mentor network do is invaluable in preparing the next generation of professionals for the corporate world.

“This benefits not only the individual students, but also the wider Bermuda market by fostering emerging talent.”

Mr Message was joined by Sylvia Jones, Director of the Bermuda operations of Elevate Executive Selection, as well as Guilianna Molero Solari, manager at PwC. “Hosting such a bright and well-engaged group of young professionals was a pleasure and very encouraging for the future of our industry,” added Mr Message.