Integro Bermuda Limited is looking to become a major player in the global brokerage industry and with New York Attorney Eliot Spitzer's recent probes into brokerage practices, clients want more choice says Michael Fisher Managing Principal.

Mr. Fisher joined Integro as the Bermuda Operation Leader of Integro in June 2005 after working at Marsh Management for 18 years, serving as a managing director and head of the Bermuda office.

"Our goal is to be eventually one of the biggest brokers in Bermuda and we want to create an opportunity for clients to have an alternative to the three major existing brokerage firms, Marsh, AON, and Willis," Mr. Fisher said.

Integro was established in May 2005 by founding partners, Robert Clements, Roger Egan and Peter Garvey to serve the complex insurance and risk management needs of large institutional risks and the company feels it is poised for expansion as a new player in the industry.

The firm also believes it offers a fresh business model for the insurance brokerage market.

"Marsh, AON and Willis dominated the market in access of perhaps ninety percent of the business that found its way to the Bermuda carriers.

"Bob Clements believed that post the Spitzer investigation of brokers dealings with insurers, clients especially complex risk management accounts, want more choice."

Mr. Fisher feels Eliot Spitzer's investigation questioning the honesty and fundamental business practices of the insurance brokerage industry, including AON Corporation has led to changes into the practices of the brokerage industry.

The Spitzer probe of middlemen who sell insurance mostly to businesses revealed that buyers, confronted with disturbing conflicts of interest in how their brokers have been paid needed to educate themselves on insurance and be more prepared to make buying decisions independently.

"The Spitzer investigation dramatically changed the way brokers operate going forward, the way brokers are compensated, clients perceptions about brokers and the way clients wanted to business with them going forward."

"There was a significant number of clients that really used only one broker for all their business and many companies now as result the Spitzer investigation and the Sarbanes Oxley Act feel they no longer want to have their business handled by one broker."

To become a leading brokerage firm he said Integro had to establish an international presence.

It has offices in New York, Atlanta, Toronto, Montreal Chicago, San Francisco, as well as London, Stockholm and Bermuda, employing 400 employees globally and serving 150 clients.

Integro Bermuda employs five staff and has seven major clients with an equal number in the pipeline.

"The Bermuda office of Integro will play a major role in the development of the company globally as the founding partners bring immediate experience to bear know all the senior executives of the leading reinsurer's in Bermuda, the underwriters and the clients."

To facilitate large complex risk management accounts from major markets in the US or London, Mr. Fisher said access to the Bermuda insurance market is critical because the Island is a major reinsurance market and having a presence in Bermuda is essential.

"Business will not be entirely placed in Bermuda but we will go with our guys in the US to Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, New York and San Francisco and participate in client meetings because Bermuda will play a big part in whatever placement programme is put in place."

"Bob, Roger and Peter are all intricately involved in clients meetings and request for proposals and Bob opens some doors for us that might not be open otherwise."

"Bob is creative thinker and as the brains behind the development of ACE and XL he came up with the concept of creating companies in Bermuda which can provide capacity that nobody could find and went out there to find people to invest in them."

"The nature of the clients we are looking to pursue are by definition large complex risk management accounts, many of which could find the opportunity for the Bermuda capacity to participate in their programmes and that's why its important to have direct access to the Bermuda market."