Some of the Island?s insurers ? including giant ACE Limited ? are now requiring staff to give three months notice when leaving the company, in a bid to stem the flow of departures to a crop of new competitors currently entering the Bermuda market.

It is understood that ACE, and a number of other Bermuda insurance companies, are stepping up the required period of notice after staff began to be lured away to join a wave of ten new insurance and reinsurance companies currently forming.

ACE staff had until last Friday to sign an amendment to their employment contracts, according to a copy of a November 30 memo obtained by .

The memo said ?effective immediately? staff would be required to give notice in writing, and the resignation ?shall be effective not less than three months after it is given to the company?.

Previously staff were required to give one months? notice. ?In the competitive market place in which we operate, one month is not adequate time? to recruit and hire replacement staff, ACE said in a statement issued to

Numerous established Bermuda insurers have been hit by employees departing for promising positions with fledgling insurers. ACE and Axis Capital are two of the companies known to be amongst those that have suffered the untimely departures, leaving the companies short of staff during a pivotal business period.

The wave of new company is forming in response to an anticipated hike in premium pricing, when policies are renewed for 2006.

This has put demand for staff at a fever pitch because of the need to fill a range of specialist positions ? including underwriter, actuary, claims and modelling posts ? in time to sell policies during the January 1 renewal period.

Martin Law, executive director of the Bermuda Employers? Council, said it was not abnormal for changes to be made to a company?s conditions of employment. And he thought a new notice policy could only be binding if any changes were agreed by both parties.

Mr. Law said no employees working in the Bermuda insurance sector had lodged any concerns with the BEC over the move by ACE and others to install a three-month notice period.

Under the Employment Act 2000, how much notice an employee, and equally applying to an employer making redundancies or dismissals, is required to give depends on what is agreed in the staff member?s letter of employment.

If the exact period of required notice is not spelled out in an employee?s contract then the notice period is based on the how salary payments are scheduled.

For example, an employee paid weekly is required to give one weeks? notice, and two weeks notice would have to be given if paid biweekly, and so on.

The ACE memo, sent out by Keith White, the executive responsible for the administration of all of the ACE companies in Bermuda, said ACE made the change after thoroughly researching the issue, and discovering that many Bermuda market insurers were making similar amendments to their employment terms.

Any staff concerned about the new policy can speak with their manager or the company?s human resources director, ACE said. And it said no action will be taken against employees who choose not to agree to the extension on notice to be given.

Some staff have been concerned that their bonus payment in the year ahead could be contingent on agreeing to the three-month notice period, concerns that ACE said were unfounded.

?Employee bonuses are based on company and individual performance and are not linked to the amended statement of employment,? the company said in a written response to ?We have asked our employees to support the new policy and trust that they understand that the reason for its implementation is to help ACE manage the continuity of its business plans and achieve business objectives,? the company said.

The change in employment terms was not made on staff who work for ACE in other parts of the world.