The Bermuda insurance industry will assume a higher profile than usual at the annual Risk & Insurance Management Society, Inc. (RIMS) Conference starting Sunday in San Francisco.

This year's RIMS conference will feature a new, larger Bermuda booth. After using the familiar site of a traditional Bermuda cottage as an exhibit booth for a dozen years, thousands will arrive at the Moscone Center on Howard Street to see a new Bermuda booth.

The new Bermuda booth exhibit was modelled after one of the City of Hamilton's most prominent buildings, City Hall. It is larger than the previous booth, comprising 60 square feet which is a third more space than previously occupied at the RIMS event.

Organisers for the Bermuda effort expect one of the largest crowds in recent years for the annual conference of risk managers, because the 38th Annual RIMS Conference is being held in this, the 50th anniversary of RIMS.

Premier Jennifer Smith will be greeted next week Wednesday at the Convention Centre by the President-elect of RIMS Roger L. Andrews, the general counsel and director of risk management for a century-old company, Bullard. Mr.

Andrews will be installed as RIMS President on Monday.

Mr. Andrews and RIMS executive director Mary Roth will escort the Premier and Chief of Staff, Senator David Burch from the RIMS booth to the new Bermuda booth during a photo opportunity.

Later that evening, the Premier will host the top delegation from RIMS at a gala reception, before retiring with them for a private dinner with prominent officials of the Bermuda insurance industry.

The RIMS event is used by between ten and fifteen thousand people to network across many industries and learn more about the latest insurance trends and related subjects at an overwhelming 400 booths. At one of those sessions, Bermuda's Registrar of Companies Jeremy Cox will join eight other insurance regulators on a panel discussing the state of the various captive jurisdictions.

Mr. Cox will be joined by his counterparts from Hawaii, Vermont, Guernsey, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos, Cayman Islands and Dublin.

Bermuda remains by far the largest captive domicile with 1,200 captive insurers registered, while Caymans is second with 500.

New, bigger booth: RIMS committee chairman Robin Spencer-Arscott shows Alderman and deputy mayor of Hamilton Lawson E. Mapp an artist's impression of the new Bermuda booth exhibit, fashioned after the City Hall Building and some 60 square feet.

BUSINESS BUC