In the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the massive insured damage it has caused, it is increasingly likely that Bermuda will experience a new wave of reinsurance companies setting up on the Island.

Five or six companies have already received licences from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and it seems likely that that the ?spawn of Katrina? will now follow the well-trodden path established by the Class of 2001 formed in the wake of 9/11, the Class of 1993 that followed Hurricane Andrew and the grand-daddies of them all ? ACE and XL ? which were formed 20 years ago during a capacity crisis in the excess liability insurance area.

To some extent, the new companies are replacing insurers that have been felled by the surprisingly large claims that Katrina left in her wake. And the arrivals will provide new opportunities for Bermudians in insurance and a wide variety of other professions. That?s all to the good. Who can say which of these businesses will become a global giant along the lines of ACE or XL?

But with reports of the new businesses scrambling for office space, staff, IT support, accounting and legal services, it seems likely that more businesses are being created than are disappearing.

And that means the Island will almost certainly see a fresh influx of employees from overseas, all in need of housing, transport, education for their children, health services and the like.

With Government tackling sustainable development, now is the time to be asking whether the Island is ready for further strains on an already overtaxed infrastructure and whether the Island can maintain the balance between growth and over-development.

As Bermuda?s ever-dwindling band of war veterans prepare to parade on Front Street again tomorrow, everyone in Bermuda should take a moment to remember the sacrifices that they and their comrades made.

It is also worth remembering that some of these men ? and women ? are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet, which shows that the community?s gratitude is depressingly shallow.

In that context, the Bermuda Regiment deserves credit for working to ensure that the veterans are receiving all the benefits and pensions to which they are entitled.

The Regiment is the successor organisation to the Bermuda Militia Artillery and the Bermuda Volunteer Organisation, which collectively sent more soldiers overseas during the Second World War on a per capita basis than any other nation in the world. So it is fitting that it has taken on this task.

Given the enormous efforts Bermuda?s soldiers made during the war, and the seeds their contributions sowed for widening democracy and civil rights in its aftermath, the least we can do as a community is ensure that their final years are comfortable.

For many of the veterans, their thoughts tomorrow will be with those who were left on the fields of Europe, North Africa and Asia, or in the deep waters of the world?s oceans. And they will also remember their comrades who have passed since the end of the war.

Our thoughts should be with the veterans, who risked their lives so we could live ours in safety and freedom.