Bermuda has blazed a global trail in insurance which other countries should follow, according to ACE CEO Brian Duperreault.

Mr. Duperreault said one of the Island?s key advantages was a simple red tape-free regulatory system.

?Bermuda is now, undeniably, the centre of the world?s insurance expertise,? he told an audience of some 140 insurers and risk managers on Wednesday.

He said there was good reason for Bermuda to be called ?the world?s risk capital?.

?There?s a certain poetic justice in a tiny island like Bermuda earning the title ?the world?s risk capital?,? adding that others markets could learn much from how Bermuda?s insurance sector evolved.

?Bermuda?s rise to pre-eminence in the insurance and reinsurance sectors is a case study in what can be accomplished with strategic planning, entrepreneurial spirit and sound management,? he said.

Mr. Duperreault made his observations during the morning segment of an all-day session on Bermuda as a risk market ? with ?Bermuda: The World?s Risk Market? being the Island?s insurance industry tag line ? held Wednesday at the prestigious Risk and Insurance Management Society?s annual conference in San Diego. In the audience were Premier Alex Scott, Finance Minister Paula Cox, other Government delegates and more than a hundred insurance professionals.

Mr. Duperreault one of several Bermuda executives and risk managers to take part in the session, after RIMS organisers asked the Island to put together the panel discussion.

The all-day affair included participation from risk managers, which gave insight into the pros and cons of doing business in the Bermuda market from a client?s perspective.

Allison Towlson, chairman of the International Advisory Committee?s RIMS sub-committee, who coordinated the event, said RIMS ? which draws a large crowd of risk managers to its conference ? had wanted the discussion to include the risk managers? perspectives.

Paul Markey, Aon (Bermuda) CEO was the moderator for the morning session which gave an overview on where Bermuda is in comparison to other global markets, the make up of the Bermuda market (including the various classes of companies writing business) and trends in that market.

The speakers for the session were Mr. Duperreault and Max Re CEO Bob Cooney.

Mr Duperreault spoke of the three waves of business that can be pinpointed as the evolution of the Bermuda marketplace as it is known today.

Nearly two decades ago ? with the Island up until that time being known primarily as the first and leading (as it still is) captive insurance domicile ? the (then) excess liability carriers ACE and XL were established.

This week Mr. Duperreault said that it was hard for him to fathom the level of growth the Island?s insurance market had seen, particularly in the last ten years, but said Bermuda had been the ?obvious choice? for new companies through the years.

?In the 19 years since ACE put down roots on the Island, three waves of activity have broken over Bermuda?s shores. All three were the result of acute capacity shortages in various parts of the world.

?Each time, Bermuda was the obvious choice ? and, I?d argue, the only choice ? to mount a rapid response to these crises.? He continued: ?In 1985, when ACE and then XL brought much-needed excess liability coverage to market; again, in 1993, when companies like Tempest Re, Partner Re and Renaissance Re provided property catastrophe cover; and for a third time in 2001, when carriers like AWAC and AXIS injected billions of dollars of capital into the global market from their new base in Bermuda, it was clear that the Island has found the right mix of sensible regulation and sophisticated infrastructure to support the response-driven business models of these and many other companies.?

Mr. Duperreault, and others taking part in Wednesday?s discussion, said that one of Bermuda?s key advantages was its regulatory system with it not being burdened by a ?a complicated process of state-by-state regulatory approval (US) or the sometime bureaucracy of the Financial Services Association in the UK and Europe?.

Bermuda bases its decisions regarding the granting of a single licence ? which is recognised the world over ? on a company?s level of capitalisation and on its financial strength rating.

And Mr. Duperreault called for other jurisdictions to follow that lead: ?Bermuda paper and a Bermuda charter have become accepted throughout the world and should serve as a model to those jurisdictions that continue to foist antiquated processes on our industry,? he said.

He concluded: ?When you need to move fast, as the insurance sector had to do in 1985, 1993 and 2001, you have to come to Bermuda.

?Bermuda is now, undeniably, the centre of the world?s insurance expertise. Since 9/11 the greatest concentration of industry talent resides and does business in a four-block radius that has been likened to the world?s most sophisticated shopping mall. With ACE and XL as its anchor tenants, other world-class insurance and reinsurance companies, offering world-class products and services, are within easy walking distance. ?

He added that another thing that had put the Island in good stead was the companies doing business there having a good claims paying record, including after the September 11 terrorist attacks with all paying out what was owed as quickly as the claims came in, albeit meaning large losses for these companies at the time.

?While the market distinguished itself in the 1980?s and 1990?s, it was the country?s turn-on-a-dime response to the September 11 tragedy that earned Bermuda?s right to be called the World?s Risk Capital.

?It has been said before, but it?s worth saying again, that without the capacity provided by the companies that set up in Bermuda almost three years ago, there would have been a global crisis of epic proportions.

?Bermuda now assumes enormous portions of the world?s risk. To put this in perspective, there are carriers headquartered on the island whose individual capacity rivals the entire Lloyd?s market. Ten years ago when I arrived in Bermuda, such a concept would have been hard to fathom,? he concluded.

Bob Cooney, representing one of Bermuda?s younger companies ? with Max Re setting up before the last wave of 2001 insurers but still only being four years old expounded on the changes the market had seen through the last decades. He agreed with Mr. Duperreault on the Island being a pivotal provider of capacity, and pointed out that it is also delivering innovative solutions to companies finding it hard to place business.

He revealed details of two alternative risk transfer (ART) solutions recently written for two large accounts that had been unable to find coverage through traditional carriers.

He concluded that the ?depth and breadth of capital and coverage,? from Bermuda had never been greater.

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