Bermudian students working in the insurance sector got a double boost yesterday after the Bermuda Insurance Management Association (BIMA) announced its official endorsement of the Associate in Captive Insurance (ACI) professional designation and launched a scholarship fund to encourage them to apply for full tuition funding for the programme.

At yesterday's AGM, The BIMA membership voted to officially endorse the ACI programme, which is offered by the International Center for Captive Insurance Education (ICCIE) and the only professional designation for the captive insurance industry. The programme, which already has several Bermudian students taking part in it, can be completed online consists of seven courses and three teleconferences.

"We're extremely pleased to receive this recognition of the ACI designation," said ICCIE executive director Mitch Cantor. "Because Bermuda is the world's largest captive domicile, its endorsement means the programme has truly been accepted as the educational standard for professionals working in the captive insurance industry."

At the same time, BIMA together with the Bermuda Captive Conference, have created a scholarship fund for Bermudians, encouraging them to apply for full tuition funding for the programme.

This fund, in the initial amount of $10,000, will cover the complete tuition costs for two ACI students, who will be selected by the Bermuda Insurance Institute Scholarship Committee. The balance of the fund will go towards providing two Bermuda Insurance Diploma (BID) scholarships, again, awarded to successful Bermudian students wishing to start a career in the captive insurance sector.

"This is an exciting development and one that will hopefully attract young bright Bermudians to the captive insurance industry," said BIMA president Philip Barnes. "This is also an ideal way for the captive industry, through the success of its annual Captive Conference, to give back to the community and encourage grass roots participation in the continued success of the largest captive domicile in the world".

Launched in 2004, ICCIE has already attracted almost 400 student enrolments, with more than half of those committed to taking the complete series of courses needed for the designation. The online delivery of the courses has seen participants enrolling from about 40 US states and a number of other countries and territories, including Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Barbados, the Netherlands, Ireland, England, Switzerland, and Dubai.