Bermuda one day into its participation at the prestigious Risk and Insurance Management Society's annual conference was already getting the attention of thousands.

On Monday ? the first day the conference hall was open to delegates ? the Bermuda booth was visited by more than 2,000 people said RIMS event director for Bermuda Neal Southam.

RIMS is the industry event of the year and traditionally attracts thousands of professionals from around the world-and record attendance could be achieved this year.

RIMS, which is being held this year in San Diego, has for many years been used to promote Bermuda as a centre for the insurance world ? and this year was no exception with about two hundred delegates flying in from Bermuda alone.

The Bermuda booth was continuously humming again yesterday but exact

figures ? with Bermuda booth visits being tracked by a sophisticated device that scans a bar code on a delegate's RIMS badge ? were not available at press time yesterday.

Indeed, the exhibit hall - which is four hours behind Bermuda being on the west coast of the US ? was still lively with activity and delegates were streaming to the Island's booth which seems to be must-see for RIMS attendees.

Information about Bermuda's insurance sector is distributed there by volunteers ? including hot off the press sector data in the Bermuda Market Solutions guide for 2004 ?- and give away canary yellow tote bags emblazoned with "Bermuda: The World's Risk Capital" are a hot commodity.

Public relations officer Sarah Hemingway told the final attendance tally was not available yet, but she said it could be an all time high. She added that it was known that the number was going to top 11,000 delegates.

Not only risk managers attend the event but a multitude of related professionals and countries.

Bermuda will also be in the spotlight today with the Island as an insurance centre being the topic of a day-long RIMS panel discussion. Both the morning and afternoon sessions are called 'Bermuda: The World's Risk Capital' ? the Island's motto during the event ? and includes participation from the leading lights of the Island's insurance sector including the heads of both ACE and XL, Brian Duperreault and Brian O'Hara respectively.