The Bermuda booth at the Risk and Insurance Management Society's (RIMS) annual conference in Boston attracted international interest yesterday.

Allison Towlson, chairman of Bermuda's Insurance Development Council (IDC), said the booth had seen a strong flow of traffic right from the 10 a.m. start at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

"We saw a higher level of inquiries than we've seen in the past," Ms Towlson said.

"Several of the questions were about captive formation and they were coming from areas such as Australia, Japan and the US."

There was also interest in the ALARYS conference, the Latin American equivalent of RIMS, which is scheduled to be staged in Bermuda in October.

The booth has a core staff of five and had extra help during yesterday morning's busiest period. Experts were on hand to answer specific queries.

"More than ever this year, I have realised how important it is that we have the booth here, so we can reach out to people and let them know what the Bermuda market has to offer," Ms Towlson said.

The brightly coloured Bermuda bags given away at the booth proved as popular as ever.

"This year they were green for Boston," Ms Towlson said. "It was nice to look across the exhibition hall and see all the green bags promoting Bermuda."

Also attending the event is Finance Minister Paula Cox, who will lead the Bermuda delegation on its traditional walkabout around the RIMS hall this morning.

In a press statement, Ms Cox said she was looking forward to meeting insurance industry figures and to promote the Island as a business centre.

"RIMS is a highlight on our yearly event calendar," Ms Cox said.

"This year's gathering is particularly significant because jurisdictions continue to navigate through the global economic challenges.

"One of the key objectives of the Finance Ministry is to safeguard Bermuda's economic interests in the light of the changing global economy. We have a solid tax information exchange programme in place which we believe will only maintain our strength during these times of uncertainty."

Minister Cox took part in a Bank of Bermuda HSBC captive industry round-table discussion over the weekend.