Bermuda's main provider of insurance schooling will not be allowed to become an "educational dinosaur" but will instead liaise closely with industry to make sure it offers courses that are relevant to the ever changing world market, said the new president of the Bermuda Insurance Institute (BII).

Bermudian Elspeth Brewin has just been appointed head of the BII, and plans to stick to the core values of the institute while raising the profile of the organisation.

"We want to get past presidents together to see what they have done before," she said. "We have a wealth of talent - we will brainstorm and keep the BII relevant. There is no point in making it an educational dinosaur."

The institute was set up in 1970 and teaches industry and non-industry professionals a wide variety of insurance courses which are regularly oversubscribed. It is a charitable foundation which is funded by its 70 insurance industry members. Courses are taught by industry professionals who want to "give back" to the community and get a small stipend for their services.

Mrs. Brewin, vice president of Oil Insurance Ltd. (OIL), hopes to get the new post September 11 insurance start ups to sign up to the programmes and get them more involved in the college.

"The basic mission remains the same," said Mrs. Brewin, who will hold the post for two years. "To provide the workforce with professional qualifications. And since we are such a large insurance centre - arguably the largest in the world now - the role of the BII is even more important. We need to have a pool of home-grown talent that is up to world standards."

She said as her new role as president of BII, she will not be "reinventing the wheel" but hopes to raise the profile of the institute and make sure that every insurance company in Bermuda is a member.

"Both Bermudians and non-Bermudians benefit from our courses," said Mrs. Brewin, who has served as vice president of the BII for the past two years. "We specialise in industry courses for those already working in the industry, but we also hold induction courses which are great for people in associated industries, who are starting up in the business or who want to get into insurance. They are usually split 50/50 between people already working in insurance and those wanting to work in it or in associated industries where a knowledge of insurance is useful, such as the legal profession."

She said they try to keep topical and said that recent courses held on money laundering have been very popular. And a course on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a United States legislation which directly affects publicly listed companies to make them more accountable in the wake of the Enron scandal, has been so oversubscribed they are having to run the course again.

Mrs. Brewin added: "I think it is tremendously important to that we are able to produce a "home grown" and educated work force for the insurance and reinsurance companies in Bermuda. The sophistication of Bermuda is one of the main attractions for companies to set up in Bermuda in the first place. In order to keep them here, we need to provide them with staff that are educated to the highest international standards and motivated to get to the top of their profession, whatever their chosen discipline.

"My main focus over the next two years will be to encourage Bermudian students and those already in the workforce to persevere with their studies and obtain professional designations in order to further develop their skills and knowledge."

Mrs. Brewin added that she would like the BII to be able to offer an MBA in Risk Management working in conjunction with another college or university.