The Bank of Bermuda has moved fully into the insurance market with the launch of a new set of products for its retail, business and private banking clients.

The new coverage, which is being offered in conjunction with BF&M Ltd. and will be officially unveiled across its branches today, will include everything from home insurance to motor insurance and even credit protection insurance.

It has the advantage of being easy to buy as a complete package in a one-stop shop, offering competitive quotes and comprehensive coverage, according to the bank.

Keith Jones, head of insurance at the Bank of Bermuda, explained that the bank had been developing the insurance programme as part of an overall HSBC group strategy. The group's 1,000-day initiative was set up to double the profits of its insurance business worldwide from 10 percent to 20 percent.

"It is quite a substantial business selling insurance products to our clients," he said.

"A year ago we started developing the HSBC group's insurance initiative for the Bank of Bermuda.

"In the first phase we rollout today it is for the retail customer base of the bank, the second phase is to the business client base and the third phase is to the Group's private banking base.

"The product is very much linked in with the banking product, for example offering coverage with a loan to buy a car or get a mortgage."

The brand of the insurance carries the HSBC logo in line with the Group's newly launched global insurance brand, while the Bank of Bermuda staff have been fully trained and accredited to sell the products.

"We have had a soft launch and we are pleased with the progress so far," explained Mr. Jones.

"We have worked on it and it has taken approximately 12 months plus to build the infrastructure to make it work and to make it easy for the customer."

The insurance product has been customised by BF&M to meet the needs of the Bank of Bermuda's clients and covers a range of areas such as home buildings, home contents, mortgage protection, motor, consumer loan protection and credit protection insurance.

It will be rolled out across the bank's business customers by the end of the year and the private banking client base by the end of 2009.

John Wight, president and CEO of BF&M, said the move came about as a result of the insurer looking for a new distribution network and it made perfect sense to team up with the Bank of Bermuda to offer the products.

"It was an opportunity for us to work with a terrific company with a large database of clients," he said.

"There is one team comprised of staff from the bank and BF&M looking at this from every angle.

"We are delighted to be partnering with the Bank of Bermuda to assist them in finding insurance solutions for their customers.

"We were very proud to be selected as the bank's partner for bancassurance [the selling of insurance products by a bank], and see this relationship as a win-win all around for the Bank of Bermuda, the bank's customers, and BF&M."

Ashley Parker, head of banking at the Bank of Bermuda, said the chance to play a part in one of the Island's biggest and fastest growing industries, the insurance sector, was too good to pass up.

"It seems to me that with an Island that is so insurance-orientated that a bank insurance proposition did not exist and it was a good opportunity to look at it with a reasonably fresh set of eyes," he said.

"We wanted to have a good referral programme and embed it with the day-to-day work with our clients."

And the intention is to offer the products via face-to-face meetings in the branches to start with, before moving into ATM, phone banking and online offerings in the future.

The Bank of Bermuda's staff will be on hand in the branches Island-wide to offer advice on the insurance products as part of the bank's insurance month initiative as well as a series of 'Man on the Street' meetings at the ferry and bus terminals and the Bull's Head car park to make people aware of the new offerings available.