If the number of lime green Bermuda beach bags spotted around the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) 2008 conference in San Diego were anything to go by, then the event was a big hit for the Bermuda booth.

With just over an hour of the conference left to go, organisers had scanned in a total of more than 3,500 visitors to the booth, with about 4,000 bags being handed out in the process.

That, added to the 500 guests at Tuesday's Bermuda Reception, hosted by the Bermuda Insurance Development Council (IDC) and featuring Finance Minister Paula Cox as the main speaker, meant the event was an overwhelming success for the representatives present from the Island's insurance industry.

The booth, which was imaginatively designed in the traditional shape and colours of a Bermuda house, attracted risk managers from Bermuda, North America, Mexico and Europe and even as far afield as Asia and Australia.

And clients were able to tap into the knowledge and experience of a wide range of different experts from companies and organisations, including the IDC, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, Ace, Allied World, XL Insurance, Aon Bermuda, HSBC Insurance Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd. to name but a few.

Other facilities on offer at the booth were an upstairs meeting room built into the house, two flat screen televisions to access the Bermuda Insurance website for information on companies and associate partners.

Copies of Bermuda Market Solutions, Bermuda Insurance Update and The Bottom Line were also available to visitors.

"The Bermuda message has certainly been created by those 4,000 people carrying a piece of Bermuda home with them in the form of the bags," said Rhona Emmerson, president of AAC Saatchi & Saatchi, who has been helping run the Bermuda booth for more than 10 years.

"We have had people from Mexico and the Asian market and all over Europe, and some people have also flown in from Australia to come here.

"This is really an international show and a good opportunity for interface time with clients.

"The great thing is that all of the people who work the booth represent Bermuda and even though they work on their own company booths, they make the time to donate hours on the Bermuda booth.

"I think the difference this years is that we have had some very good meetings in the booth and our industry partners also use the booth for meetings.

"For another year we have put our story out and people are keen to do business with us, which can only be good."

Overall there were more than 430 exhibitors with booths at the convention centre alongside RIMS cyber stations where attendees could check their e-mail, access the RIMS jobs bank and visit the virtual exhibit hall, and exhibitor product locators.