Bermudians had the chance to travel the world and experience the global insurance markets from Bermuda to Chicago and London thanks to a summer internship programme run by the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies (BFIS).

Lorenzo Whitehurst, Jahvon Washington, Doya Morgan and Tyler Owen were among the students who took advantage of this year's two or three-week programme to see everything from the Island's good and great in the insurance world to the old fashioned paper system of writing insurance at Lloyd's of London.

Mr. Whitehurst and Mr. Washington spent two weeks in London, being exposed to a range of lines including ship and injury and even kidnap and ransom insurance, while Ms Morgan went to Chicago on the two-week programme and Mr. Owen was based in Bermuda for three weeks.

By popular demand, the number of places on offer for next year's internship has been increased to 12 for 2009.

Mr. Whitehurst saw an advert for the initiative and decided to apply because he wanted to go to London and see the birthplace of insurance.

"I thought 'Wow, London — I have never been over the Atlantic Ocean' and that I would give the programme a try," he said.

"I learnt a whole lot about where insurance came from and it gave me a really broad view of insurance in general, how it all fits together and got a good view of the global market."

A former Bermuda College student, he went to read actuarial science at Temple University in Philadelphia, from where he is expected to graduate in December 2009. He wants to become an actuary either in Bermuda, or overseas to get some international experience before returning home.

Mr. Washington, who attended St. John's University in New York to study risk management and insurance, decided last Christmas he wanted to see Lloyd's on the recommendation of his industry peers and was alerted to the internship programme by BFIS, applied for it and got it.

"I liked Lloyd's — it was great to see how insurance has evolved from the original coffee shop in London to what it is today," he said.

"It exceeded my expectations and exposed me to a lot of lines written in London and Bermuda and I saw how the two places both play their part and how they differ from each other."

After graduation, he plans to work as an underwriter in New York for a number of years to further his experience and has not ruled out a return to London someday before settling back in Bermuda.

Ms Doya, who won a scholarship from Partner Re, graduated from the University of Hartford with a major in insurance and finance and found the programme through the BFIS website, was accepted and then placed in Chicago.

"I really enjoyed the experience," she said.

"I found it very beneficial and I was exposed to all the different lines of insurance offered."

Having worked as a summer student in the claims department at Ace Bermuda and joined Ace Tempest Re full-time as an underwriting analyst in May, she hopes to go into portfolio management in the future.

Mr. Owen, who previously went to Bermuda College and graduated with a business degree, decided to get into the insurance sector following a five-year career as a bartender, landing a job with Amlin and a scholarship from Ace, also going on to study at St. John's University.

"This programme was amazing — I had a great opportunity to network and met with CEOs, head underwriters and managers and even the BMA," he said.

"As a Bermudian, doing the Bermuda internship was the best programme in my opinion."

He now has ambitions to get into Director's & Officer's insurance underwriting at Ace and is keen to work in New York for a couple of years to gain international experience as well.

His advice to any young Bermudians looking to get into insurance or to do an internship programme was to do their research on the industry and work out how they fit into it whether it be as an underwriter, accountant or on the finance, IT or HR side of the business, and he reckons risk management will be the field of the future to be in in the wake of the current financial crisis as companies and organisations look to reduce their exposures.

"Bermuda is a global player in the top three domiciles in the world," he said. "Some of the top companies in the world domicile here and it is a great place which offers a great opportunity for Bermudians to get involved in the insurance industry."

BFIS is on the lookout for new undergraduate students in their junior or senior year for next year's programme with application forms and information available on the website at www.bfis.bm. Applications can be e-mailed with a deadline of March 1, 2009.