SAN FRANCISCO -- The 33rd Annual Risk & Insurance Management Society (RIMS) Conference opened yesterday in San Francisco with Bermuda exhibitors confident that they are well positioned to maximise exposure from the US risk management industry's largest trade show.

Attendants at the Bermuda Booth were ready to deal with a wide range of questions that included everything from those that were tourism-related, to those dealing with the Island as a business domicile.

Bermuda booth coordinator, Mr. John White, said that he is happy with the positioning of the booth in the massive Moscone Centre.

And he is anticipating better access to the booth staff by those attending the exhibit hall.

Visitors were last year directed to one of the four sides of the booth, a model of a Bermuda cottage, a booth that has been a hit in recent years.

This year, the desk that encouraged the queue to form to just one side has been discarded.

Mr. White said, "Because we've moved our volunteers back into the booth, the people visiting have to actually step under the roof which will foster more discussion.

"Before, our people were standing at a desk, and we had this desk between us and them. We figured by removing that desk, we would have an opportunity to talk to people passing by on any of the four sides of the booth and it would instigate more discussion with people.

"It is a better idea to have more interplay between our people and the visitors. Originally, three years ago, we wanted to keep people on all four sides, but we couldn't keep up with it, because we didn't have the proper storage system in place for the Bermuda bags.

"This year with a little improvement we've attached display handles to keep the bags out in the open and drawers to store the back up supplies away. This way, they are accessible to the booth attendants, no matter what side they are standing on.'' The popular Bermuda bags are expected to be a hit again this year, a give-away item that has the Island's name and crest emblazoned across it. There are 3,500 that will be distributed. with recipients first filling out a survey sheet.

Inside the bags are the tourism brochure, "Where to Stay'' and a brochure on the upcoming Bermuda Insurance Symposium. The bags also contain a compilation of new brochures from the Bermuda International Business Association.

Near to the Bermuda booth, the Island's three banks have established prominent positions. Directly across one aisle is the Bank of Butterfield, where Butterfield's international executive, Mr. Charles Gunn, said the bank was anticipating making new contacts and cementing existing relationships.

Mr. Gunn said, "There are different companies here whose risk managers may consider setting up captives. We also have quite a number of our client companies who attend this conference. It is very important that we show that we are a player in this business. We have a half a dozen people manning the booth. They are from our banking division, the credit side and also from the investment management side.

"It is the type of situation now, where we would be noticed if we were not here. Certainly, Stephen Kempe (executive vice president, International), and myself will be working on the Bermuda Booth for the Bermuda Government, which we've done before. We are looking forward to that.'' The bankers, much like a number of the other representatives from Bermuda, will be attending some of the 140 sessions of this year's Conference.

The Bermuda Commercial Bank's Mrs. Dominique Smith said that her bank is looking to market two of its latest products.

"We want to bring BCB Gold to the forefront and demonstrate to the insurance market that it is a user friendly, innovative product. We are also presenting the new joint venture with Merrill Lynch Asset Management (MLAM).

"We have a representative from MLAM who will be here for three days, finding out more about the insurance market and the Bermuda market in particular. We also have a MLAM director coming on Wednesday and we will be introducing him to some of the CEOs of the large insurance companies. We think it will be a very exciting week for us.'' The Bank of Bermuda, much like last year, has joined up with the Bermuda Biological Station in a booth that contrasts environmental concerns with those of the financial communities, showing how they can work together for the common good.

The Risk Prediction Initiative is designed specifically to enhance communication between scientists and the decision makers in the insurance industry. Insurers are able to understand more relevant information about climate forecasts through the work being done at the Bio station by the Atlantic Global Change Institute.

Meanwhile, chairman and president of the Bank of Bermuda (Ne York) Ltd., Mr.

Edgar C. Felton, said,"We are looking forward to a very fruitful RIMS with the interest in Bermuda, and interest in the offshore services of the bank in other offshore centres as well.

"The bank is one of the service providers to the offshore captive industry in a number of centres. We hope by our presence here to expand that activity considerably.'' Apart from Bermuda and New York, the bank also has representatives joining them in San Francisco this week from the Cayman Islands.

DRUMMING UP NEW BUSINESS -- The Bank of Butterfield's international executive Mr. Charles Gunn.