Th announcement that Overseas Partners Ltd., by many counts one of the ten largest insurance companies based in Bermuda, is being put into run-off should be a reminder that international business cannot be taken for granted.

OPL's decision to go into run-off over three to five years is not as severe a blow to the insurance sector as it appeared at first glance, but it shows that neither insurance nor international business generally does not rise in a steady upward curve.

Coming on the heels of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Global Crossing and the difficulties facing Tyco International and Elan International, those who see international business as a never-ending gusher of money for every imaginable cause would do well to recognise that it is not a tap that can be turned on and off at will.