Selling Bermuda as a good place to do business with an attractive and solid regulatory framework has been the task of the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) at this year's Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) conference in San Diego.

The BMA, which was being represented at the event by CEO Matthew Elderfield, director of insurance licensing and authorisation Shanna Lespere and director of insurance compliance Shelby Weldon, has been busy spreading the word about the work it does on the Island.

Meanwhile, the Authority has also given the thumbs up to its latest report on insurance companies and the business they write in Bermuda.

Mr. Elderfield said getting the message out about the benefits Bermuda offers to companies in terms of regulations is important, while he added that his team had also been fielding a number of questions about how they are gearing up for changes in international regulation, including Solvency II in Europe.

"We think supporting RIMS is important because one of the attractions of Bermuda is the regulatory framework," he said.

"We are here to explain to interested clients what the BMA is about.

"For example, people might want to know about how the licensing process works and how to set up a company, and we can tell them how the regulatory service is evolving.

"I think it is something that we want to continue because regulation is an important part of the Island."

Mr. Weldon agreed that it was a good opportunity to reconnect with individuals the BMA does business with as well as other regulators at the conference and give them an overview of where the organisation has been and where it is heading in the future.

Ms Lespere said it was beneficial to be at RIMS to address any queries clients may have and build relationships for the future, in addition to talking about specifics such as the BMA's new business plan and how it intends to proceed with it.

Mr. Elderfield admitted there had been a significant amount of interest in the latest statistics released by the BMA on Bermuda's insurance market.

"We think the reaction to the statistics is showing continued growth and the fact that we have had several companies formed in Bermuda can be attributed to how Bermuda is continuing to develop," he said.

"The size of the industry and the gross premiums shows Bermuda is moving forward in spite of the market softening."

Among just some of the new plans on the horizon for the BMA are legislation for a new class 3 re-categorisation and a proposal for a new category for special purpose vehicles (SPVs).