The head of an executive recruitment agency and relocation firm believes hiring for the life insurance industry peaked in Bermuda last year.

Sylvia Jones, director of Elevate Executive Selection and founder of Corporate Concierge, said there were still new entrants into the life insurance sector here but not at the same volume.

“The industry is not in decline but the companies here are now established and have their full staffing,” she said.

“They are poised for the next two to five years of growth without necessarily adding to their numbers.”

Most of the clients she works with are in financial services in some form.

She said the digital assets arena was continuing to grow.

“While that translates into business flowing through Bermuda, it does not translate into large numbers of people on the ground,” she said.

Ms Jones predicted that as the year goes on we will see many work permits coming to an end.

“In 2021, we saw a surge of people coming here for these start-ups on five-year work permits,” she said.

“We are seeing a trend where jobs are not being replaced in Bermuda but being filled somewhere else in the company. That is unless that particular role is mandated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to be here.”

Two years ago a lack of adequate housing was the biggest problem for new executives moving to the island, she said. In 2026, finding private school placement is on a par with housing as a problem.

“Adding an extra teacher and classroom is not a quick fix,” Ms Jones said. “There are only so many students the private schools can physically accommodate.”

More local families were also looking for places in private schools, she said.

“Our advice for hiring managers over the last three to four months has been to understand the family dynamics of the people they are hiring,” she added.

“Those who are saying yes to a new opportunity need to understand that there is a school application process that they have to go through and it ties into their ability to be here.”

Companies are now tweaking their interview processes to realistically hire the right people.

With this downturn in hiring in the international business sector, Ms Jones thought there could be a “slight” easing of pressure on housing and schools.

She derives her information from data collected from her clients over the past five years using bespoke software.

Her company has been scrutinising data, down to what cars her clients drive and what internet service providers they utilise.

She said the depersonalised data could also help Bermuda better understand its community dynamic.

Last year, 30 per cent of clients were from the United Kingdom, working in financial services or C-suite roles.

“The UK is followed in numbers by people from the United States, Canada and Switzerland,” Ms Jones said.

“Years ago, Japan was in fourth position but India has overtaken them. We are seeing large numbers of people from India who work in actuarial support.”

While people from some countries come to Bermuda still working on their actuarial qualifications, she said people from India generally came fully-qualified and experienced.

She thought the opening of the Southampton Princess Hotel later this year would also help ease the pressure on local housing.

“Some people who have taken to renting their homes as Airbnbs could find that the market has shrunk as more visitors choose to stay at the Southampton Princess or other hotels on the island,” she said.

“I hope that happens because we desperately need those houses back in the rental inventory. It would probably take 12 to 18 months before that happened.”