Bermuda exhibitors and delegates were out in force at the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) conference in San Diego this week.

Judy Hart, executive vice-president and head of insurance operations at Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd., and Joe Rego, president and chief operating officer of Aon (Bermuda) Ltd. were just two of the attendees meeting and greeting clients throughout the five days.

Both were out and about representing their companies at the show, holding meetings with existing and prospective insurance buyers and risk managers, but one of their biggest tasks was to promote the Bermuda market on the US and world stage.

"We have a larger team than we have had previously from Endurance at RIMS," said Ms Hart. "But I think a big part of why we are here is to support the Bermuda market.

"My team is spending time on the Bermuda booth to support the Island's (re)insurance industry and the more people we can have visible, the more we can get across the story of how dominant the market is." Being a specialist in healthcare insurance, Ms Hart was also keen to glean market intelligence from partners and competitors alike.

She was also speaking as part of a six-man panel on the issue of healthcare yesterday, talking about the state of the medical malpractice market and reviewing past results and the current environment and providing projections for the future.

"I really deal with medical professional liability for US hospitals and physicians and the market has been growing in Bermuda for the past six months," she said, "I actually brought it in and now it is a very dominant market.

"Most of the large healthcare providers buy healthcare insurance from Bermuda and a lot of them have Bermuda captives."

Mr. Rego, meanwhile, was kept busy with Aon hosting client meetings at the conference centre, the Manchester Grand Hyatt and the Hard Rock Café, while also taking time out to help man the Bermuda booth.

"RIMS is a great opportunity to see a large number of clients in a short period of time as well as networking with your own colleagues," he said.

"There are 400 Aon representatives here, most from the US, and underwriters from Bermuda.

"Really it is a good chance to update clients on the Bermuda market and get the message out about what is going on in Bermuda.

"Most of our clients do visit Bermuda for specific purposes for things such as renewals, but here at RIMS you can move away from the pressure point and talk about what additional services we offer."