international award for its staff development.

The Argus Group chief executive officer Gerald Simons announced yesterday that the firm won the Excellence in Education Award given by Life Office Management Association (LOMA) for the third consecutive year.

The award recognises those companies that do an outstanding job of developing their staff through the Fellow, Life Management Institute insurance education programme.

In a typical year, less than ten percent of LOMA's thousand members qualify for the award.

In May, 1999, 11 staff members wrote 12 examinations with a pass rate of 100 percent when the pass rate for companies writing more than 32,000 examinations worldwide was 76 percent.

"The employee benefits field in which these individuals work is very competitive in Bermuda,'' Mr. Simons noted. "Customers demand the highest quality of service from qualified professionals. We are pleased that our employees strive to improve themselves, both professionally and personally.'' BUSINESS BUC