Choosing New Orleans as the scene of its 45th annual conference has enabled RIMS to give a small boost to the city still recovering from Hurricane Katrina with the influx of around 10,000 people for most of the week.

But many companies' staff have gone a step further by rolling up their sleeves and donating sweat and toil, as well as money, to the recovery effort.

Bermuda employees of insurance brokers Aon and Integro, and insurance giant XL were among those helping out in the run-up to the conference.

On Friday and Saturday, Integro's Michael Fisher and Tom Masters, from Bermuda, were among a group of nearly 40 from the company who helped Habitat for Humanity's construction effort in the still-devastated Ninth Ward.

"I used to work in construction so I didn't find it such hard work as some others did," said Mr. Fisher, managing principal of Integro's Bermuda office.

"The first day we were finishing floors and hanging doors, although we didn't have all the tools we needed and it was a bit disorganised. The second day we put a roof on a house. It was quite satisfying to be able to help, but the scale of the damage was very depressing."

On Sunday, some of the top executives from XL helped to pack emergency kits for residents who have only just returned to the city, on behalf of the South Louisiana chapter of the American Red Cross.

The Bermuda company also donated $29,000 to the charity and those who got down to work included XL chief executive officer Brian O'Hara and the chief executive of XL's insurance operations, Clive Tobin.

"It's not a big thing but it shows we care and it's something that will be given to those residents right before the hurricane season," Mr. O'Hara said. "God forbid, it should happen again."

Most of those returning will be living in trailers, set up by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The Family Preparedness kits include such items as flashlights, ponchos, portable radios, batteries, blankets and bottled water.

"We thought it was a natural thing for RIMS to come to New Orleans, which, with Hurricane Katrina, was such a huge source of pain and suffering that we all witnessed," Mr. O'Hara added. "And we in the insurance industry suffered financial pain paying for all the damage.

"Yet the insurance industry has always suffered from less than sterling public relations. We thought that being able to come here would show added value beyond our policies and contracts."

Nearly 140 Aon staff, including some from Bermuda, were among a group of 400 volunteers involved in Sunday's effort to clear New Orleans' debris-strewn and overgrown City Park.

"The people who live here need somewhere to go out and the park used to be that place," Stephanie Hettrich, from Aon's Chicago office, said. Volunteers worked six hours to clear a park area.