Last week we looked at how the international insurance sector has contributed to the social environment in Bermuda. This week, we will examine the trickle down effect of the international insurance industry.

In a speech given to Rotarians last week, David Ezekiel, head of the Association of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC), told his audience that the international insurance industry employs 2,000 Bermudians. He was also quoted in the April 17 Royal Gazette as saying, "there is certainly a trickle down effect in that the Archer Report said that about another 9,000 jobs are directly affected by international business and a further 4,500 jobs were peripherally impacted... And what you have to do and what we have to do as a country is to determine whether the small pain we feel in relation to the international business is worth what it brings to us. And I think the answer you will hear is a resounding yes."

I know that when the economy is poor and people are out of work, it is very difficult to look on the bright side of things, especially when one sees a 'foreigner' coming here and seemingly reaping the most benefits from our society. But the next time you feel like that, think about how someone you know has benefited from the generosity of the international insurance industry through scholarships, ability to work with computers, have a kidney dialysis unit, and more.

If the international companies were to pull out of Bermuda, our society would lose a lot of the infrastructure, which these companies have so willingly put into it. Some will argue that the infrastructure was only put into place because these companies needed it and did not help to develop it out of the goodness of their hearts. To some extent, I agree with this argument but I will counter it by saying, 'so what; who cares? We have benefited in the long run and it doesn't matter the reason'.

Tourism in Bermuda is suffering. Hotels, restaurants and many entertainment outlets are closing down due to lack of volume. It is the international sector which is helping to fill the few hotels left through clients coming to Bermuda for meetings. When these clients come here, they keep the occupancy rates up in the hotels and therefore they are keeping people employed in the hotel industry.

Our hotels are slowly but surely shutting down. Let's take a look at the ones that have closed down. They are the ones that are not frequented by the business travellers to Bermuda and as a result they aren't seeing the volume of traffic to keep them operational. If the international industry were to pull out, how many hotels would be able to survive? How many jobs would be lost then?

Another industry which is being kept afloat by the international insurance industry is air traffic. Whenever, we brag in the newspaper about the increase in air traffic to the Island, it usually coincides with some international industry forum which has chosen to conduct their meetings on here or when new companies are setting up on the Island. If international businesses were to pull out of the Island, how many flights per day do you think would be available? It's not the tourists that are filling the airplanes anymore - it's the business traveller.

The international insurance industry has become an integral part of our society. It is something that has been allowed to develop as, at first, the second pillar to tourism under the exempt company umbrella. Now it is a major contributor to our gross national product. It is now almost too late to try to change the rules on how it operates. The question we all need to ask ourselves is where would we be without it? It is not just the haves that are benefitting from their presence. It is all of us.

The construction industry is still going strong. Why? Because it is building office complexes, housing or providing maintenance on existing buildings. Although the average Bermudian does not benefit from the buildings, they do benefit from working on these construction sites or maintaining buildings already in existence. If these companies were to pull out, who would be able to pay the construction companies or maintenance companies for their services rendered? The construction companies that are running into difficulties now are not the ones who are providing services to the international insurance industry. Where would the construction workers be then if there were no international insurance companies?

The benefits of the international insurance sector trickle down to us all. Bermuda is managing to stay afloat while other economies around the world are sinking. Without the international insurance industry, many of us would not be able to eat, have a roof over our heads, clothe ourselves, I would not be able to write this column - the list goes on.

Some people argue that if all of these companies were to go, Bermuda could go back to its simple way of being. I don't think so. We have moved so far away from a simple way of being that I think we would have more social problems.

People complain when they lose their telephone lines, Cablevision, or electricity for a couple of days. Has anyone thought about what it would be like if that's what we would have to do on a continual basis should our major contributor to our bottom line pull out?

Development always comes at a cost. The questions we now face are, do the benefits outweigh the costs? Have we reached our saturation point? When is enough, enough?

We all need to stop dwelling on the wrongs of international insurance in Bermuda and concentrate on how we can make it work to our mutual benefit. Like it or not, it is a part of our society. A vital part.

And as one of my neighbours, who is benefiting from the construction side of the international insurance industry, said, "there's money to be made by us all if people want to make it instead of complaining about the foreigners. I'm happy. I'm making good money from these guys and I don't even wear a suit."

Cathy Duffy is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and is now a freelance writer. She is a former executive of Zurich Global Energy and has 15 years experience in the insurance industry. She writes on insurance issues in the Royal Gazette every Monday. Feedback crduffycwbda.bm