The Royal Gazette/Bermuda Stock Exchange Index yesterday edged up 12. 21 points, or 0.34 percent, as Butterfield Bank shares closed up 25 cents at $44.

Butterfield investors traded 1,367 shares while BF&M Ltd. saw 1,400 shares trade, but no change to its $15.50 share price.

The total value of the shares bought and sold on the BSX yesterday was $81,848.

Bermuda insurance stocks posted declines yesterday as investors likely remained concerned over the size of Katrina claims insurers will pay out, and the fact that more hurricanes could make landfall in the US as Tropical Storm Rita threatened south Florida.

The Bermuda Insurance Index, which tracks publicly traded Bermuda-based insurers, fell 20.25 points or 1.78 percent to close at 1,116.51.

Katrina, which hit four Gulf Coast states on August 29, could be the most expensive natural disaster ever.

Montpelier Re Holdings saw its shares fall nearly four percent to close at $25.80, while Axis Capital shares lost 2.89 percent to $28.89.

ACE shares were down 2.45 percent to $46.15, while XL Capital also lost 2.45 percent pushing its stock down to $68.97 a share.

RenaissanceRe shares fell 1.11 percent to $45.39 and Quanta Capital shares dipped 0.3 percent to $6.39 a share.