Women are now outnumbering men in terms of the numbers of Bermudians joining the Island's insurance industry.

The Bermuda Insurance Institute (BII), a registered charity that oversees insurance education, reported that 59 percent of graduates who passed their insurance designations through BII were female in 2005. Female graduates now outnumber men.

At the BII awards dinner on Saturday night at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, BII president Gerald Simons voiced his concern about the lack of young men going into insurance.

"I remain concerned that boys are very under-represented among those entering the insurance industry," Mr. Simons, the chief executive officer of the Argus Group, told diners at the awards dinner.

"As a CEO 10 years ago, I remember that there was one female in my management team - now there are about five or six out of 12.

"Our real challenge is with young males and getting them to particpate more fully in our industry."

He referred to a speech by Appleby partner Shaun Morris at the Rotary Club last week, which urged corporate Bermuda to take a more prominent role in mentoring the Island's youngsters.

"We can provide the opportunity for a young person to be connected to someone who is connected to business," Mr. Simons said.

He added: "I would urge senior executives to encourage their staff at all levels to become interested. In so doing we can encourage more boys to participate in our wonderful industry."

Mr. Simons said he had personally been a mentor to five boys over a period of three years, an experience he had found rewarding.

In the awards night programme, Mr. Simons expanded on his concern about young males. "My concern for boys is long-standing and it is a view shared by the community," Mr. Simons was quoted as saying. "It is a reflection of several social and cultural realities in Bermuda and how we deal with that is a challenge."

The BII president reeled off statistics showing how the BII's workload increased dramatically in 2007 - a trend which indicated the growing interest in careers in insurance.

Last year, 1,144 students registered for insurance examinations with the BII, an increase of 37.6 percent on 2006, while 107 students gained designations, an increase of 12.6 percent. Also 26 seminars and workshops were held, attracting 1,122 people, an increase of 42.4 percent.