major players are looking to transform the connection into a means of doing on-line electronic commerce.

The local network began operating with six members in February primarily as a means for the major insurance and brokerage companies to send secure e-mail to each other within Bermuda.

The non-profit organisation is now made up of Centre Re, Ernst & Young, Marsh & McLennan, Johnson & Higgins, Ernst & Young, Stockton Re, Exel Ltd., Zurich International (Bermuda) Ltd., AON Re, the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and within two weeks, ACE Ltd.

The network, which handles about 400 e-mail messages a day, was set up by Paragon Bermuda Ltd. on the instigation of Centre Re's president David Brown.

Another 50 companies are set to join the network, including the Registrar of Companies, Paragon's director Graham Pearson said yesterday.

Law firms, captives, mutual fund managers, and the banks have all declared an interest in joining Bermuda Connect.

Plans are for the network to evolve beyond the e-mail function to one in which companies can use it to make submissions on policies, applications for company registration, and other information exchange. The concept would be similar to electronic data interchange (EDI) except the companies would be entering the information directly on the network using applications directly on the organisations server.

Law firms would be able to submit company registration to Government electronically.

Insurance companies and banks would be able to use the network to send required financial data to the Bermuda Monetary Authority. The banks want to use it to post letters of credit to customers.

The accounting firms want to use it to send audit reports to their clients.

The insurance companies see it as a means of submitting quotations.

David Brown