last year and plan for all eventualities, according to Premier Jennifer Smith.

Ms Smith was addressing nearly 200 delegates at the 14th International Reinsurance Congress at the Southampton Princess, where she was a key note speaker.

She likened the world of politics to the world of reinsurance with similar ups and down and underlined the importance of keeping lines of communication open.

"We politicians have our ups and downs -- just as I understand you in the reinsurance business do,'' Ms Smith told the delegates. "In fact I understand last year was something of a `low point' in the reinsurance cycle. Indeed, the headlines dubbed it a `year to forget'. But in truth you should never forget.

After all those who forget history are doomed to forget it.'' Ms Smith added that while organisations could not foresee disasters or losses that happened all at once, companies could be prepared.

"What one can do is learn about spreads, accumulations, reserving and all the other economic and managerial techniques for controlling the impact of such losses. Like you, we in Government know that we cannot necessarily control events, but we can plan for such eventualities, and thereby minimise their impact.'' She said that in public life keeping the communications channels was one way of mitigating risk, which she said would also apply to the world of reinsurance.

"The point is,'' she said. "Survival is the key, and we are all driven to survive. It is the redeeming human virtue which provides for successive generations to continue to try to make the world a better place.'' She said she hoped the year 2000 was shaping up to be better than 1999 for reinsurers and added that the Bermuda Government had been doing what it could to improve the operational environment.

She said: "Already this year we have passed a number of significant pieces of legislation, with more slated for tabling this fall. In insurance and reinsurance terms the most significant of these is the Segregated Account Companies Act 2000.

"Sometimes called a `protected cell', a segregated account is a way of separating assets and liabilities relating to different business deals. It is a truism that what is today a cutting edge innovation, worked out between a private enterprise and Government, will tomorrow be emulated by others and ultimately find its way into law. So it is with legislation, Bermuda has always been in the forefront of these structures, having enabled them by way of private legislation for the last decade.

"This particular piece of public legislation was a long time in development.

We took the time to analyse the legal, business and public policy requirements and we think we have got the resulting statute right. It provides for fast, effective and responsible segregation of assets between client accounts and I believe will make Bermuda even more effective as a jurisdiction in which to structure insurance derivatives and structured reinsurance transactions.'' She said that the Government encouraged this process of the transfer of creativity from private businesses to the public good.

Ms Smith said: "I assure you, our Government intends to continue a sound regulatory environment in relation to the many interesting reinsurance transactions that are conceived and executed here in this jurisdiction. We want Bermuda's tradition of industry leadership to continue and endure.'' Speaking out: Premier Jennifer Smith at the conference yesterday BUSINESS BUC