XL Insurance (Bermuda) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of XL Capital Ltd. has announced that its annual XL Insurance Scholarship has been awarded to two students this year - 19-year old Lindsay Botelho and 18-year old Ashley Chandler.

Ms Botelho and Ms Chandler were among 19 applicants for the scholarship which covers recipients' tuition, travel and living costs.

Scholarship Committee chairperson Lisa Harvey Swan said: "The selection process this year was as challenging as ever. This year we made the decision to award the scholarship to not one, but two, very deserving applicants."

XL president & CEO Brian M. O'Hara added: "XL continues to seek the `best of the best' from our young Bermudians. Lindsay and Ashley have already achieved significant academic success and contributed valued time to the community.

"We are pleased to support them as they continue their endeavours and look forward to their contribution to Bermuda's insurance community."

Ms Botelho, the daughter of Adelino and Nancy Botelho of Warwick, will enter her second year at McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Business in Hamilton, Ontario this September where she is completing an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree. She attended Mount Saint Agnes where she was involved in the Mount Saint Agnes Glee Club, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and served as Secretary of Student Council and the National Honor Society.

She was also a volunteer at the Extended Care Unit of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and is an active member and volunteer at the SPCA.

Ms Botelho said: "I'm grateful to have secured the XL Insurance Scholarship for the remainder of my Bachelor's programme. This will allow me to pursue my goals of working as a Chartered Accountant in the insurance industry."

Ms Chandler, the daughter of Robert and Brenda Chandler, will begin her studies in September at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario where she will embark on a four-year Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business Management.

She attended Port Royal Primary School, Bermuda High School, where she was Deputy Head Girl, and Saltus Grammar School. She was involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme, served as a Director of the Leo Club, an association of the Hamilton Lions Club, and volunteered at The Evangelical Church Olympians Club. She was also the recipient of the 2003 Bermuda Teen Award for Outstanding Female Scholar. Ms Chandler said: "This scholarship is extremely important to me. I will receive the financial assistance that I need and at the same time will be able to establish a future working relationship with XL."

Since its inception in 1990, the XL Insurance Scholarship has awarded approximately $655,000 to help young Bermudians prepare for professional careers in the insurance industry. A condition of the award is that recipients be willing to return to Bermuda on completion of their studies.