There has been a big change in the level of importance Guy Carpenter & Company places on Bermuda since its first tentative presence on the Island in the 1990s.

Last year alone it placed in excess of $4 billion in premiums with Bermuda-based companies.

It is celebrating a move to new offices this week in Pitts Bay Road and the appointment of Kevin Fisher to head the Bermuda office.

Part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, Guy Carpenter & Co formally opened an office on the Island in 2000. It has tripled its staff in the past year with more than one-third of them Bermudians.

The investment in Bermuda underscores the company's expansion of office capabilities and resources in the Bermuda reinsurance market.

"It has been a landmark year for Guy Carpenter, as we have made an enormous investment in the Bermuda marketplace," said Mr. Fisher. "We are steadily building a team of reinsurance professionals in order to better serve our local clients and positioning ourselves to transact even more business into the marketplace."

Mr. Fisher has relocated from Guy Carpenter's London office. He has more than 25 years of experience in the global reinsurance industry, is deputy CEO of Guy Carpenter Ltd. and co-leads the UK broking platform.