Bermuda will host a meeting of up to 200 people from global insurance broker and risk adviser Aon Corp. later this month.

The Aon Risk Services US Executive Leadership meeting will be held at the Fairmont Southampton hotel from February 22 to 24.

Joe Rego, president of Aon Bermuda Ltd., said the Island was hosting the event for the first time. "This is a leadership conference for our top 150 or so executives in the US," Mr. Rego said. "There will ultimately be about 175 to 200 people attending."

"Bermuda falls under the US umbrella from a corporate perspective. We've had this event in different places — for the last two years it's been in Chicago and it's also been to Scottsdale, Las Vegas and Naples, Florida. In Bermuda, we can not only pursue our agenda, but we also have access to the major insurance markets that are domiciled here.

"And it's good from a Bermuda perspective to have this kind of activity taking place here."

The Aon managers will look back on the past year, reflect on lessons learned, and set goals and strategies for the year ahead, as well as interact with clients.

Mr. Rego, who heads up Aon's insurance brokerage operation on the Island, said the insurance market at this time was highly competitive, as there was plenty of capacity and capital in the industry, but the Island was managing to maintain its share.

"We have seen some moderate attrition in premium, but that's a reflection of the global climate in insurance," Mr. Rego said. "Speaking from an insurance perspective, I would say volume has held up very well. Overall we are very pleased with the continued flow of business to the Island and to our clients in a very competitive environment."

Mr. Rego added that there had been a "broad stabilisation" in the industry last year after the tumult of 2008, when major players like AIG and XL Capital ran into difficulties and investment losses wiped out billions of dollars of industry capital.

Highly competitive insurance markets have in the past sometimes led to insurers accepting inadequate prices as they chase market share.

Asked whether he thought underwriters were maintaining their discipline in this soft market, Mr. Rego said: "There are a lot of claims of discipline — but that is the rhetoric. In reality, you see a different behaviour pattern. There is a high degree of competition in the insurance world. In reinsurance, I think there is a more stable approach."