Two top Bermuda insurance executives joined US insurance industry chiefs at the White House on Friday for a top level meeting with US President George W. Bush.

ACE chief executive Brian Duperreault and XL Capital chief executive Brian O'Hara were among insurance chiefs led by American International Group chairman Maurice Greenberg who told President Bush that they were in a good position to pay the estimated $30-$40 billion in claims from the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

Speaking after the meeting, Maurice Greenberg, chairman of American International Group Inc... (AIG) told reporters: "The insurance industry is very safe. The insurance industry is well capitalised."

But Mr. Greenberg said that in the future, insurers will need government help to pay for damage from terror attacks: "The federal government has to backstop the impact on the industry arising out of terrorist activities."

Insurers and rating agencies have said so far that the losses are manageable from the attacks last week, though Standard & Poor's Corp. has said if industry-wide losses go above $50 billion the solvency of some insurers could be threatened.

Current estimates put the total insurance bill at $30 billion to $40 billion, the most expensive insured loss ever.