The international reinsurance brokerage who recently decided against a listing in New York because of the Sarbanes-Oxley disclosure requirements has opened its new Bermuda office in Wessex House.

Benfield has offices in 34 locations and has 1,500 staff world-wide.

Bermuda became the latest part of its global operation in late December.

The company is currently proceeding with a listing on the London stock exchange.

The most noteworthy thing about Benfield is that it deals exclusively in reinsurance - it is the world's largest exclusive reinsurance broker.

A large proportion of its business goes through Bermuda.

Mr. John Jenks, head of Benfield's new Bermuda office, says that Benfield's total premium throughput is roughly $6.5 billion per year and it places about a third of that into Bermuda.

However, most of this business does not require a physical presence here.

Benfield currently only has a small staff of five brokers on the Island.

The majority of their business into Bermuda is actually undertaken over the telephone and via Internet by Benfield's brokers in other offices all over the world.

The office here is more geared towards advising on a complicated transaction or a new product. "An area where face to face is beneficial," explains Mr. Jenks.

The company aims to provide "cutting edge" advice on such matters as risk analytics.

"We're very good at analytics and understanding our customer's book of business," he explains.

As consultants, Benfield can help clients to find the best possible solutions by using what are called "hazard analysis models".

The company is licensed to use RMS, Equecat, AIR and other major third party models as well as having its own proprietary model for analysing risk.

In some cases, primary insurers can employ Benfield's consultancy services to analyse and quantify their exposures.

"For example, we have helped clients to assess their asbestos exposure for loss portfolio transfer transactions," says Mr. Jenks.

Asked whether it is hard to keep up with all the different species of reinsurers in Bermuda, Mr. Jenks responds: "That's why it pays to be reinsurance specialists."

Benfield's traditional hunting ground has been Lloyd's in London, where Mr. Jenks acquired his 26 years of experience.

But the modern role of the broker is a far cry from the conventional image of the transactional broker - it's not all schmoozing and pinstripes.

Mr. Jenks joined Benfield in March 2001 when the company which he had originally started, Robert Fraser Company, in its latest incarnation as Swire Blanch, was acquired by Benfield.

Asked whether Bermuda has come of age as an insurance market, Mr. Jenks says: "It isn't really a market, it just happens that there are a lot of large reinsurance companies that happen to be located in Bermuda.the companies all have their own game plan."

He distinguishes it from the situation in the Lloyds subscription market, where all the syndicates have to deal with brokers in order to do business and there is a constant flow of deal information.

"We needed to be here for two broad reasons," he says.

"Firstly to help existing clients to get access into Bermuda, to make sure that customers meet the appropriate reinsurance companies and executives and secondly to find new customers."

According to Mr. Jenks, a new source of business may be the new reinsurers: "Most new companies, once they have gone the IPO route will start to buy retrocession, we believe". Reinsurers themselves commonly buy cover for their own exposures, known as retrocession cover.

"We consider that we're one of the world's leaders in placing retrocession reinsurance, for example, we place 40 per cent of the world's market share of non-marine retrocession."

In addition, Benfield's Bermuda operation is able to perform a valuable service for independent property insurance brokers in the US who are acting for Fortune 2000 companies.

Because they are not in competition with them, US brokers can use Benfield to access Bermuda reinsurance for their clients, without worrying that Benfield might try to pinch their clients.

"We're the only ones here who can say that we're entirely independent and have no retail operations in the US," says Mr. Jenks.