The host companies of The Bermuda Angle Conference have announced that they will not hold this conference in 2004 ? and may not hold it ever again ? to the dismay and surprise of analysts who regularly attend the event.

The insurance conference is considered a must in any analyst's calendar, and has been a staple fixture since 1992 and held by an ever- changing group of Bermuda insurance companies.

It has lost some weight since new Security and Exchange Commission rules forbade any disclosure that had not already been made to shareholders.

Since this rule came into force, the meetings have gone from intimate informal briefings and wining and dining opportunities to schmooze with analysts to a more organised conference that is webcast all over the world for everyone to see.

The conference was due to be held between November 29 and December 2 this year, but conference organiser Starla Williams confirmed yesterday the event had been cancelled.

The 11 Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance companies that hosted the 2003 conference were ACE Ltd., Arch Capital Group, AXIS Capital Holdings, Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd, IPC Holdings Ltd, Max Re Capital Ltd, Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd, PartnerRe Ltd, Platinum Underwriters Holdings Ltd, RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. and XL Capital Ltd.

"These companies agreed recently that due to conflicting commitments and obligations during the year, it would not be possible to hold the event.

"The companies will revisit at a later date whether to hold future conferences," said Ms Williams in a statement.

The cancellation of the event came as news to analysts who have been travelling to Bermuda for years to attend the conference.

Paul Newsome, who is an analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc for ACE and XL among others, said that he was surprised the event had been cancelled.

"I thought it was a good conference," he said yesterday. "I attended the last several and I am a little surprised it has been cancelled this year.

"The last one was held the US because of Fabian, and it was pretty well attended. I would have attended the one in December this year as well."

Harry Fong, of analysts Baylock, said he would miss the conference and hoped that it would not be permanently cancelled.

"It is a nice thing to travel and attend, the Bermuda Angle," he said. "I travel to visit Bermuda on a regular basis and go around the companies then, but to have everyone presenting in one place is convenient.

"From a practical stand point, there are a couple of very large and a couple of very small companies in the same space, and the format it not as beneficial, and that may be the reason for the cancellation."

Mark Lane, analyst at William Blair & Co., who formally analyses ACE and XL but also takes an active interest in the rest of the Bermuda insurance market, said that it would be a shame if the conference was cancelled. "It would be a big loss," said Mr. Lane, who has been attending the meeting for seven years. "It is one of the best conferences of its kind of the year. I would be very disappointed, it is a very useful conference."

He said that he had heard that the organisers were potentially moving the date permanently to December after the change of date due to Fabian last year had been a success.

He said that the problem with the old October date was that it was after the end of the quarter but before the companies released any information and the companies were worried about giving away material information about the quarter.

December was seen as a good time because it was everyone's fiscal year end.

"It has been a little more open access recently, but it is still an opportunity to meet members of management who you would not otherwise see. And it was a great opportunity to meet institutional clients.

Other analysts contacted did not want to be contacted also expressed surprise that it had been cancelled and said that it was a useful event that was well attended and well-respected.

The Bermuda Angle was first established in 1992 and held annually thereafter to increase exposure to the small but growing number of publicly listed Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance companies.

"Since that time, Bermuda has become a leading insurance and reinsurance domicile," said Ms Williams.

"The size and number of Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance organisations has increased dramatically over the past few years with each offering differentiated products and services through diverse strategies.

"The Bermuda Angle host group of companies will continue to maintain their trademark of the conference name, "The Bermuda Angle.""