industry, a top official said yesterday.

Mr. Roger Gillett, deputy chairman of the Insurance Advisory Committee, also warned of complacency among Bermuda companies.

The deputy chairman of the Insurance Advisory Committee, Mr. Roger Gillett, challenged the audience at a Bermuda Insurance Institute luncheon to establish its vision for the future, and act upon it.

Mr. Gillett, the senior vice president of Johnson & Higgins (Bermuda) Ltd. in charge of developing captive business, echoed the sentiments of the publisher of Business Insurance , Ms Kathryn McIntyre, who told a similar BII gathering some weeks ago that complacency could be the Bermuda market's worst enemy.

Emphasising that he was speaking as a private individual, he spoke of the responsibility the industry has of "keeping our politicians better informed about our industry. This really is to avoid what happened to us recently, which is what I call the signal right, turn left phenomenon.

"What we saw prior to the Budget was a message coming through clearly that we were being encouraged, the industry was welcomed and they wanted to see the industry grow.

"And then we saw the turn left, which was the imposition of further taxes on us, in particular the employment tax, which hits us, particularly in the management companies, extremely hard.

"I think we must work to avoid those sorts of situations in the future, and perhaps the development of a vision would help us to achieve that.'' Mr.

Gillett said the danger of complacency comes when the industry stands around and boasts of its success.

"Bermuda's motto means "Where the fates may lead us''. It's no longer any good. Let's not be a rudderless ship. It's not good enough for the future.

"The prevailing philosophy in all of the major businesses these days is that for an industry to succeed, it must have a vision.'' Mr. Gillett said there were many opportunities in Bermuda, with its huge capital base, which was not constrained by reinsurance, a strong reputation and a relatively young and excited work force.

But while it was being developed, there were insurance buyers in the market establishing their own visions, and looking at new ways to finance their companies' risks.

"Who could be better positioned to assist them in looking at new ways than the Bermuda marketplace,'' he asked. "To be effective, we need to establish the vision. And it must be one that all in our industry and the service providers buy into. Even our Government.'' He said that if such a vision was developed and understood there would be no need to make changes in taxation.

He sees a very exciting future for the industry, but a future that could even be better with the development of a five or ten year plan which is communicated continuously and consistently.

The IAC marketing committee was formed in 1990 after concern about the progress of competing domiciles and a couple of years of declining numbers in Bermuda's total registration.

The $450,000 budget for the committee is comprised of money from Government and the industry. Their major expense is the annual Risk & Insurance Management Society conference, this year being held next month in San Francisco.

Mr. Roger Gillett