On September 30, 2002, I based my column on the resurgence of captives because of the state of the global insurance market. As a result of that column, I received feedback from people who wanted to know how to get into the captive industry and how the industry is responding to increased demand from clients. To tackle these questions, I decided to talk to Leslie Robinson, a Bermudian, with over 13 years experience in captives to get her perspective on what is happening in the Bermuda captive insurance industry. Over the next few weeks, I will write about the conversation I had with Leslie, beginning first with her career.

Leslie like most people in insurance stumbled into it quite by accident.

Having just graduated from university with an Economics degree, Leslie was all set to pursue an accounting career. On returning home, she began interviewing with the major accounting firms to see what was available for her. Coming out of an interview with Arthur Anderson in Victoria Hall, she bumped into Debbie Graham, then Human Resources manager for Johnson & Higgins.

Ms Graham asked Leslie if she was looking for a job to which Leslie responded yes. Ms Graham then told her to come down for an interview. Half-hour later, Leslie was interviewed for a job in the captive department at Johnson & Higgins. Two hours later, she was offered a job.

Leslie jumped at the offer because included in the package was the option to pursue a professional designation, something she definitely wanted to do.

Leslie says prior to the interview, she knew nothing about insurance and neither had she any interest in it.

Just being in the right place at the right time, changed her career path to one she says has exposed her to a world she knew nothing about. And one she finds more and more challenging every day.

Leslie remained with Johnson and Higgins for five and a half years with the last year or so on the broking side. She then moved to Sedgwicks because she wanted to get back into the captive side of the business. Seeking to slow her life down, Leslie then decided she wanted to do something different so she moved to the Bermuda College where she taught insurance for several years.

Despite the soft global insurance market, the captive industry in the mid to late 1990s again began to surge in Bermuda.

Therefore, her previous boss at Johnson & Higgins, Paul Bailie lured her back into the industry to help him at International Risk Management Group (IRMG). She was only there for a year when the whole captive team of IRMG went over to Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT).

And this is where Leslie is today.

Leslie is a very busy lady as she is now vice president and manager of Underwriting and Claims at JLT. This huge title means she is responsible for underwriting, technical insurance administration and claims administration of every captive that JLT manages.

Leslie's main responsibility on a day-to-day basis is to look out for what is renewing and make sure the people in her department are prepared for their renewals.

She is constantly liaising with people in Europe, Hong Kong, United States, South America, with the bulk of her clients coming from Europe and the US.

When Leslie comes into the office she must think about the time differences of her colleagues scattered across the globe.

If she has important information to exchange with different parts of the world she must come in at a time to suit their time.

Often she finds she comes in at 7 a.m. to catch someone in Europe before they go out to lunch.

She often does not leave work before 6 p.m. because she has to make sure she is available for her US colleagues who are at a minimum of one-hour behind Bermuda.

Leslie also gets involved with personnel issues and is responsible for Training and Development.

This means she puts together insurance technical training courses, sets up seminars, and brings in industry specialists if there is a change in industry trends to talk to her staff about the impact of these trends.

Despite her full schedule at JLT, Leslie also finds time to give back to the community.

She teaches Chartered Property and Casualty (CPCU) courses at the Bermuda Insurance Institute (BII).

Leslie utilises much of her spare time to prepare for her class, including reading while she is on the ferry or during her lunch breaks. She also teaches one of the most popular courses of the CPCU designation - Insurance Operations - with some 30 students.

Leslie sits on the Education Committee of the BII and when the BII has its AGM, she usually goes to represent her company.

Leslie says she loves her job because it is a constant challenge, as she tends to see everything that comes through the door and must be able to have her team respond in the appropriate way.

She liaises with brokers daily, puts together policy wordings, oversees the issuance of insurance certificates, and arranges complete programmes for her clients. Leslie says her role is varied and keeps her on her toes particularly now with more and more clients wanting to pursue captives.

Next week, Leslie will tell us about the changes she has seen in the captive industry.

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 crduffy@cwbda.bm