One of the insurance-world's whiz kids who has trained in Bermuda has urged others in his field to come forward and help train the next generation of insurance gurus.

Michael Douglas has taught over 500 pupils on the Island about insurance and reinsurance in the ten years he has been living in Bermuda.

And he has seen his students rise up the corporate ladder, to become bosses and teachers themselves.

"One of the most satisfying things about my job is being able to give back to the community. Now there are Bermudians who I originally taught ten years ago, in top positions and are teaching themselves,'' said Mr. Douglas.

Originally from London, 35-year-old Mr. Douglas was one of the hot-shots brought over to help auditors look at failed insurance companies in the eighties.

Ten years on he has seen the industry grow beyond his wildest dreams and seen Bermuda produce its own batch of top insurance men and women.

But now he is leaving the Island which he has grown to love as his home, and has taken a job in New Jersey.

"I will have to hang up my Bermuda shorts. But I will certainly be hanging on to them, in the hope that one day I will be able to come back here,'' he said.

Mr. Douglas has just finished his term at Marsh, where he was vice president of the reinsurance division.

He will be moving to the US next month where he will be taking up the position of vice president of captive marketing at International Risk Management, a direct competitor of Marsh.

Mr. Douglas will be sorely missed by the Bermuda Insurance Institute, where he has been a leading light since 1991. He has taught most classes, from beginners to advanced and says he will miss teaching the classes.

"The classes are great. You get people from all walks of life. In one class you may have MBA students next to someone who works in a bar. It is a great opportunity for the person who works in a bar to hear the kind of questions asked by an MBA student and it helps to raise the standard of the class.'' Asked if he had ever been stumped by a student's question, he said: "All the time. You just have to admit it and say, I'll get back to you on that. There is no point bluffing it, because someone will find you out.'' Mr. Douglas says he went into teaching to give something back to the community.

"I am quite an idealist really. I really do feel that you must show what you know to the rest of the industry, which is where my fervour for teaching comes from.

"Now I have a lot of students from two or three years back who are teachers themselves.

"When I first started teaching there were a few ex-pats teaching and nothing else. There is nothing wrong with that, but, by the nature of the job, they would be leaving at some point. So you had no continuity. The idea was at the time to encourage Bermudians in to the industry, who they could teach. I am proud to say that this is now happening and the institute has created a sort of perpetual motion, where Bermudians are now teaching Bermudians, who will then hopeful go on to teach.'' Although Mr. Douglas is leaving the island, he will continue teaching in New Jersey. But one day he hopes to return to the Island and continue his career here.