A large delegation may be flying out of Bermuda to attend the 40th Risk Insurance Management Society (RIMS) conference and exhibition in New Orleans in April, 2002, following changes in the insurance industry in the wake of the September 11 events.

Normally, between 80 and 100 delegates from the Island attend the annual trade conference including Premier Jennifer Smith, Finance Minster Eugene Cox, representatives from Bermuda International Business Association and representatives from many of the insurance and reinsurance companies based on the Island.

“There might be some increased interest this year because of changes in the marketplace,” said David Fox, head of Marketing at the Bermuda Insurance Institute.

He added it was too early to give exact figures, as most delegates had not yet organised their travel to the conference, to be held April 14 to 18.

Richard Calderon, the new Chief Executive Officer of BIBA said he, the Chairman of BIBA Raymond Medeiros, and another BIBA representative would be attending the event.

RIMS, which is a not-for-profit organisation, has left many of its day slots for sessions and special events open to meet the needs of the changing world of insurance since the September 11 events.

Each day, three hours have been set aside for “hot topics” on three out of the four days to allow for more up-to-date sessions to be allowed into the agenda.

Since September 11, the industry has been changing weekly and the “hot topics” will be updated nearer the time.

The annual conference is aimed at all sectors involved with risk management, a professional discipline that protects physical, financial and human resources and covers all sectors of the insurance industry.

Founded in 1950, RIMS is the world's largest association for risk management, representing more than 4,000 industrial, service, non-profit, charitable and governmental entities.

There are 88 RIMS chapters from around the world, and Bermuda takes interest as it is seen as the place to do businesses and meet industry contacts during the year.

The RIMS Annual Conference & Exhibition is widely recognised as the definitive risk management and insurance event and is the largest gathering of risk managers and insurance professionals in the world.

Last year the event was held in Atlanta, and in 2000 was held in San Francisco.

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For more information on the conference, see www.rims.org.