Last week I talked about the July 1, 2002 renewal date being the point of fulcrum for many of the Bermuda insurers.

I questioned whether they have adequate infrastructure in place to underwrite the risks coming their way.

I was not prepared for the angst from some of the new carriers on the Island. Some are nervous that they may miss the all important July 1, 2002 renewal date because they cannot get the staffing in place to help them meet their targets.

Many feel the Immigration process in Bermuda is handcuffing them.

A leading executive of one of the new companies said he is so frustrated right now with the whole Immigration process that he does not know what to do.

He says the slow process is costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars per day because he can not get the staff he needs to underwrite the risks coming through his door.

He says he is willing to hire Bermudians if they are “qualified” to do the job.

He tells everyone that if a Bermudian and a non-Bermudian apply for the same job and the Bermudian is qualified, he will hire the Bermudian on the spot because it is less hassle for him to hire the Bermudian.

However, he says he refuses to hire a Bermudian, or non-Bermudian for that matter, just to have a body.

As a new company, he feels his company is under additional scrutiny to prove its professionalism and worth so he must have a calibre of employee who can hit the ground running. He refuses to “bottom feed”.

He also feels the employment pool in Bermuda is limited and the good employees have already been snapped up by other new players or have been locked in by their current employers so his job to find qualified Bermudians has become that much harder.

He feels as a result of Bermuda's size, he has exhausted all of his avenues to attract good and professional Bermudian employees.

What is frustrating him more than anything is the lack of communication from the Immigration Department about the status of his applications under review, even when no one else but the applicant has applied for the job.

He even implied there is a rising frustration level in Bermuda about how difficult it is to get the infrastructure in place for a company that has been approved by the Insurance Admissions Committee.

Many of the start-up companies are beginning to feel they have been duped to believe that Bermuda is user friendly for international companies to establish a base here when in reality it is not.

He says companies are coming to Bermuda because there are no other alternatives but should there be another place, Bermuda should be prepared for companies to move elsewhere.

The frustration level is that high. He says “when Castro dies, Bermuda better look out!”

After all this rhetoric, I thought long and hard about what this executive was saying. I then decided I would write this column because I feel he may have a point.

What he is really saying is that currently Bermuda is sending out mixed messages about what we want.

On the one hand, we are out there selling our country on its great infrastructure and welcoming new companies to establish here. While on the other hand, once they set up here, we don't allow them the flexibility to build their companies in the professional manner they feel is necessary for them to operate.

The Castro/Cuba threat is a credible one. Sure it won't happen overnight. The infrastructure in Cuba is poor to say the least.

Cuba does not have electricity that works all the time. It does not have underground cabling to provide state of the art communications.

It does not have underground plumbing in many parts of the country. But in this day and age, technology is very easy to install as long as someone is willing to spend the money.

Therefore, it would not take a long time before Cuba became state of the art should some of the large conglomerates deem it to be the next frontier. Bermuda can not afford to be complacent. We are flourishing because we provide a very good jurisdiction for global companies to operate from.

It worries me that former American President Jimmy Carter is in Cuba meeting with Fidel Castro.

It worries me even more that Carter is accompanied by several businessmen who are anxious to explore the “forbidden and vastly underdeveloped market that lies so close to their shores” according to the Economist Global Agenda of May 15, 2002. The Economist also goes on to say that: “Mr. Castro is desperate to improve relations with the United States, and end the American trade embargo on his country, though he is loath to admit it.”

There may be some truth to this observation because Carter was allowed to speak uncensored over the radio to the Cuban people something which, according to the New York Times, has no precedent under Castro's regime. What does the US have up its sleeve? The Bermuda government should be worried about this visit as well.

What is Carter's visit really all about? Is the US beginning the process of laying the foundation to build the infrastructure in Cuba because they believe it could become their “Bermuda”? For Bermuda, Cuba poses a threat to both of our leading industries - Tourism and International Business. Cuba has a well-educated young workforce who can only dream about the wealth and lifestyle that we take for granted here in Bermuda.

Imagine what they would do if they were given the opportunities to use their skills freely. Let's stop being nationalistic as we are accusing the US of being because some of its politicians are trying to push through the Patriot Tax law. We must start thinking and acting globally if that's what we really want. Nationalism and globalisation do not mix.

We can't accept these insurance companies, then hold them to ransom when they try to hire non-Bermudians (if they can prove that they have tried unsuccessfully to hire Bermudians) that will help them become efficient. If we don't want them, let's tell them from the start! Let's close the door to any more new start ups if we feel our economy can not handle. We can not have our cake and eat it too.

A good infrastructure also includes the Government policies in place once the companies establish here. It does not end with the Admissions process.

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.