Ways are being sought to ensure seniors and other Bermudians on fixed incomes or with little resource to pay for home insurance are covered should their property be wrecked by a hurricane or other disaster.

Insurance chiefs have met Premier Alex Scott and Minister without Portfolio Walter Lister to discuss options for creating a safety net to help those most at risk of losing all they own should a disaster strike their home.

Premier Scott is pursuing the idea having witnessed first-hand the aftermath not only of Bermuda?s 2003 Hurricane Fabian, but also Hurricane Ivan in Grenada in 2004.

Of particular concern are seniors and those on fixed incomes who may not be able to maintain higher insurance premiums, or those who do not take out insurance. A committee looking into the situation in Bermuda is seeking to establish how widespread the problem is and options that include the possible setting up of a mutual fund to provide loans for repairs to help people in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, or to help them meet insurance premiums or a way for ?property-rich, cash poor? households to secure small loans on the value of their home in order to pay insurance premiums.

The various permutations are expected be considered by the Premier in the coming weeks.

Mr. Scott briefly mentioned the initiative at the Risk and Insurance Management Society conference in Hawaii saying that he, Minister Lister and domestic insurers were working together to ensure all Islanders had insurance protection.

Mr. Lister, who is overseeing the committee meetings with insurance company executives, said the Premier had been moved by what he saw when he visited Grenada in the wake of Hurricane Ivan when the vast majority of housing was damaged.

He added: ?There are people without insurance, such as seniors, and we are looking at how to help those people who are in difficult situation. We have met with key insurance industry stakeholders and there is a committee that will report to the Premier. The Government could secure a bond whereby a person whose house is damaged would be able to get help to restore it to its prior condition. That is one of the things being worked out at the moment.?

Argus Group executive vice-president Bob Anderson, one of those involved in the talks, said: ?A fund is one option we are exploring. But the first thing we have to estimate is the scale of the problem. The main area of concern for the Government is those home-owners who are retired on a fixed pension and can?t find the extra money needed to pay increased insurance premiums.

?We are at early stages of discussion. I personally think the insurance industry serves Bermuda well, as seen after Hurricane Fabian where I?m not aware of there being too many problems.?

Two options he mentioned were the Government creating a fund from which loans could be paid out after an event, or from which very small loans can be given for people to keep up their insurance premiums.

William Madeiros, vice-president general manager at Friesenbruch-Meyer, whose president is Michael Friesenbruch is chairing the insurance company gatherings, said: ?Quite wisely the Government has been pro-active on the back of some of the natural disasters that took place last year to see how we would do in Bermuda and particularly how people protect themselves and their properties.

?There is a lot to be said about having these talks before there is a loss and it is good that all of the discussions have been extraordinarily well received by those involved.?

He said the way Bermuda and its local insurers handled Hurricane Fabian had been positive.

One thing no one wants to create is an environment where people feel they don?t need to purchase insurance, said Mr. Madeiros.

?We need to come up with solutions to encourage people to do the right thing in the first place and then see how many fall outside the safety net,? he added.

One train of thought is to make it easier for people to pay their premiums, perhaps by borrowing on the value of their home or through special lines of credit from local institutions.

?The Government is to be commended for thinking it out before there is a problem. Mr. Scott was wise to start the discussion process early, and Minister Lister has an insurance background. There is a desire to have a partnership.?