Last week, we looked at the way Joe Rego, president of Insurance Broking, Aon Bermuda and the Bermuda insurance industry has changed as a result of September 11, 2001. This week, in my third and final column about Joe, we will look at how the Bermuda market has changed in the 18 years Joe has been involved with it. Joe will also give some pointers for those trying to find their way into the industry.

The biggest change Joe has seen is how outsiders now perceive the Bermuda insurance market. He says the Bermuda market is no longer viewed as a short-term player. Instead, Bermuda now has a reputation for having high quality intellectual and financial capital. It is now often referred to as the " (re) insurance centre of the world" compared to the days when he started and no one took Bermuda seriously. And because Bermuda has earned this reputation, it has no problem attracting quality insurance professionals to the Island to help build the infrastructure for the changing insurance environment in Bermuda.

Since his early foray into the international insurance arena, he has seen the Bermuda infrastructure positively change to complement the growing and fast changing international business sector. He says the partnership between international business and the Government of Bermuda is viewed positively around the world.

There has been positive development in the support systems available to Bermudians who wish to be educated about insurance. Joe considers the focus for developing Bermudians to work in the industry as a huge advantage considering the lack of facilities when he first entered insurance. The Bermuda Insurance Institute and The Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies are encouraging and promoting Bermudians to enter the industry with already familiar with how the industry works. He advises students to take advantage of these facilities. Bermudians now have many more opportunities available to them than he did because of the diversification and globalisation of the majority of the (re) insurers on the Island. Many are being sent overseas so they can be exposed to the way overseas business is conducted.

Joe concludes that with the changing landscape in Bermuda, he sees the following trends developing on the Island:

Many companies are looking to go back to monoline coverages from integrated deals (where several lines of business are blended together as a package, i.e. property and liability coverages blended with one limit).

The range of insurance products offered by Bermuda insurers has expanded significantly over the past several years; the original insurance lines of excess liability and excess Director's and Officers (D&O) have become two of the many products available such as Property, Employment Practices Liability and Professional Liability. These expanded lines of business enable young people entering the business a much broader selection of specialities to consider.

More focus on broader areas of reinsurance. Bermuda has grown from a property and catastrophe reinsurance market in the 1990s to much broader lines of reinsurance such as casualty, aviation, workers compensation and personal accident.

Bermuda has come a long way since the days when Joe first entered the industry in the early 1980s. It has undergone many changes. Joe has been there through them all and he says, more than ever Bermuda is in demand because it has established itself as the Island of insurance innovation. Now we have to make sure we are developing the Bermudian professionals to fill the jobs that are being created as a result. For Joe, it has been an exciting time to be in the industry. Where the industry goes from here who knows, but there is no doubt that Bermuda will be a significant insurance market for years to come and will offer exciting career opportunities for young Bermudians.

Joe leaves us with the following words of wisdom to those people interested in finding a place in the industry:

Make sure you get the right educational background.

Take advantage of the support facilities like the Bermuda Insurance Institute and the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies.

Learn the business from the ground up.

Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty i.e. get involved in all aspects of the business so you can have a better understanding of how it all fits together.

Don't limit yourself by doing what you perceive to be the most important aspect of the job. All aspects are important.

When required, put in the long hours to get the job done.

Learn the technical aspects of the job. When Joe got into the industry, there was relatively little emphasis on technical training. Today the opportunities are readily available for those who are willing to work hard.

If your employer offers you a training opportunity to gain exposure overseas, take it, it will open your eyes to how primary coverages work particularly since many of the products today provide dropdowns and follow forms.

Seize every opportunity to better yourself and make yourself a more well rounded professional; then many more doors will open for you.

Work hard and have fun.

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 crduffycwbda.bm.