Inspiring young people to get involved in insurance is a vital part of maintaining the flow of talent into Bermuda's major industry. The Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies plays a key role in doing that with its Summer Internship Programme. Tania Targett spoke to some of the students about to get a taste of insurance this year.

A group of 12 students are being exposed to the beating heart of the insurance industry in three financial centres starting this week. The Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies (BFIS) is sending the university juniors and seniors out as interns in London, Chicago and Bermuda; four will participate in the programme per jurisdiction.

The BFIS has been building its internship programme - which was started in 2000 when the institute was approached by the Katie School of Insurance in Chicago, Illinois - and this year's offered a record 12 places for aspiring professionals.

While an initial call for interns yielded only four applications, a later newspaper article highlighting the benefits of the programme spurred 41 more students to apply.

The BFIS was then able to sort out the best and most appropriate for the programme, narrowing the competition down to the 2009 intern crop. Damir Armstrong, Patrick Doyle, Andrew Osborne and Shannon Thompson will be undertaking the three-week Bermuda programme. Tiffany Austin, Jonathan McBeath, Stacy Oughton and Travis Stevens flew off to the two-week London equivalent last weekend. And Stephen Bath, Melissa Holland, Gregory Martin and Christina Ratteray will head to Chicago on July 6 for the two-week programme there.

Last week the interns met with The Royal Gazette to discuss their hopes for the programme and their excitement.

For some of the London group, the internship will mark their first trip "across the pond". Mrs. Lapsley encouraged the students to experience the city as well as concentrating on their networking and work shadowing. "Take lots of pictures, please," she said.

London intern Stacy Oughton, a senior at Mount Saint Vincent University in Nova Scotia, Canada, said she is excited about her first trip to London and about the opportunity to explore careers in the industry. She is studying business administration and accounting but said she has little practical experience.

"I have no office experience or insurance experience at all," she said. "So this will be a huge eye-opener to be exposed to things I have never done."

Travis Stevens, who will enter his senior year in risk management and insurance at New York's St. John's University in the fall, said he really hopes to learn what insurance professionals do on a daily basis. "I want them to not just tell us what they do and about their qualifications but to actually show us what they do, day to day," he said.

Chicago-bound Gregory Martin, from Wilfred Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, said he is curious to learn first hand about the different companies. "I have an interest in broking and would like to see exactly what people do at the different companies because that kind of information and exposure is huge. Since I am not an insurance major, I have to really work to get myself in there as best I can."

Damir Armstrong is the only graduate participating in the programme, having recently completed studies at St. John's University in risk management and insurance. Mr. Armstrong has already gained industry insight, having worked at XL last summer. "In the beginning it was a little intimidating," he said. "But everyone there was really nice, friendly and very encouraging."

He said he was looking forward to learning about the more unusual jobs in the industry. "When I was working in XL, I saw that there were some really cool jobs you would never have thought of," he said. "They don't necessarily appear in any text book."

Many of the students said their parents were almost as excited as they were when they were taken on as interns.

"My dad called everyone in his address book," said Chicago intern Greg Martin. While Bermuda intern Patrick Doyle said his dad wanted a list of every company he would be exposed to over his three-week term.

The list is impressive with the Bermuda group undertaking work shadowing at both Allied World and Ace as well as information sessions with Marsh, OIL Group, Axis, law firms CD&P and Appleby, PWC, Zurich, Max Capital, Catalina Re, Partner Re, Hannover Re, Validus, Ren Re and Amlin as well as visits with the Registrar of Companies, the Bermuda Monetary Authority and the Colonial Group.

Mrs. Lapsley said one of the most popular sessions among last year's interns was with Ariel Re's Don Kramer, which is back on the itinerary this week.

The students will be taking in a lot of information over the intensive programmes, which Mrs. Lapsley said are being run at a total cost of $20,000.

BFIS covers any travel costs for the interns and accommodation.

Based of the progression of past interns, Mrs. Lapsley said the networking potential offered by the programme has proved invaluable. "It helped many identify which company they would like to go on to," she said.

When the students complete their sessions, they will be asked to meet with those who attended the other jurisdictions and to complete a feedback assignment comparing and contrasting the three locales.

"The groups will have to interact," said Mrs. Lapsley. "The capacities of each jurisdiction are all different and this way the students will learn about all three."