Bermuda could be introduced to nearly 12,000 insurance professionals at the Risk & Insurance Management Society Conference being held in San Francisco this week.

RIMS has attracted a record number of attendants at the week-long conference -- the equivalent of over a sixth of the population of the Island -- who have gathered in the Moscone Centre in the heart of the city.

The conference, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has been particularly successful at attracting a host of last-minute risk managers, insurers, reinsurers and business managers.

Yesterday evening, the final figures for registration were not available, but organisers said the numbers have easily exceeded the previous record figure of about 10,000 set in Boston in 1990.

One of the main reasons attributed to the swell in numbers was due to the event being hosted in San Francisco.

Chairperson of the RIMS 2000 conference, Karen Banks, said: "San Francisco is a very desirable location. There is a lot available in a very short distance.

Everything is centred around the Moscone Convention Center, meaning we have a lot of great hotels in a short walking distance, wonderful restaurants and a lot else to do in the city.'' The last time the meeting was held in San Francisco was five years ago when the attendance was also considered to be very good.

The annual meeting, which runs from April 30 to May 5, will this year focus not only on its golden anniversary celebrations but also on education.

There is a whole array of 101 classes as well as in-depth specialist risk management courses. In total there are 169 classes open to delegates and 27 separate industry sessions.

The sessions -- and RIMS itself -- are aimed at risk managers, employee benefit managers, controllers, chief financial officers, treasurers, personnel managers, presidents, chief executive officers, brokers, actuaries and underwriters.

Bermuda has a new booth, with a replica of the tower at the Town Hall, and an information centre on doing business on the Island.

The booth has become something of a conversation piece at the event with two sets of stockades side by side and a placard stating `Bermuda Captives'.

A photographer has been enlisted to take pictures of delegates in the stocks as a promotional item given to them as a gift.

BIBA chairman Raymond Madeiros said: "We have had a great response to the booth and to the stocks. It is only the first day, but we already have had hundreds of people going through.'' There are about 80 delegates from Bermuda at the event. The Bermuda delegation is being led by Premier Jennifer Smith, who arrived on Saturday night with her chief-of-staff Col. David Burch. She will be joined later in the week by Finance Minister Eugene Cox and Minister of Telecommunications Renee Webb.

Delegates are taking turns to man the stand which is being used to promote the Island to the international business community. When the conference is in full flow by tomorrow, Ms Smith, Mr. Cox, Ms Webb BIBA and senior members of the business community will host a breakfast meeting at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco.

Invited to this event are top insurance, reinsurance and business managers who will be given the opportunity in a round table forum to ask senior members of the Bermuda Government about their policies face to face.

RIMS attracts record numbers Following this meeting will be a press conference hosted by the Premier herself. Among those expected to attend are journalists from the New York Times, which has been running a series of articles on Bermuda and a so-called `tax loophole' which some US insures say is giving Bermuda-based insurance companies an unfair advantage in the market place.

Also believed to be attending are journalists from the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe and the Washington Post. Insurance trade publications such as Business Insurance -- which has been running a series of editorials in support of the Bermuda camp -- and Insurance Day have been invited as well.

This will be followed by a tour of the RIMS conference for Government officials who will get a chance to inspect the booth.

In the evening the Premier, Mr. Cox and the `Bermuda International Business Industry' are hosting a reception for selected conference delegates.

Bermuda Insurance giants ACE Ltd and XL Capital have their own separate stalls for their US companies, as does Stirling Cooke.

BUSINESS BUC