More Bermudians could reach the top tier of insurance company management if the Island offered a specialist leadership training course.

That is the view of insurance and reinsurance consultant Andrew Barile, who has more than four decades of experience in the industry.

Mr. Barile, who leads his own company, Andrew Barile Consultancy Corp., has witnessed at close quarters the remarkable development of the Island into a major insurance centre and is making one of his frequent visits from the US this week.

He has even played a part in the insurance education of some Bermudians, having delivered lectures for the Bermuda Insurance Institute (BII) as far back as 1970.

And he believes that the Island has reached the stage when more Bermudians should be running some the Island's hundreds of insurance companies and captives.

"If someone sets up a captive (an insurance company set up by a corporation for the purpose of self-insurance), then they would tend to bring someone from overseas in to run it instead of someone local," Mr. Barile said.

"If you want to challenge the philosophy of bringing someone in, then you have to have Bermudians who are trained to the right level.

"I think Bermuda needs to design a course aimed at putting people in leadership positions in the insurance industry. A course on how to be a president of a captive insurer, for example."

While many Bermudians are involved in insurance, the relatively small number breaking into senior management echelons has caused concern. Government has responded by proposing the Workplace Equity Act, aimed at maximising opportunities for Bermudians to climb the ladder.

The cost of hiring overseas staff, providing accommodation and obtaining work permits for them give international business hard financial incentives for taking on and training local staff. And most would argue that their doors are already wide open to Bermudians.

The BII's courses offer opportunities for those working in insurance to bolster their resume, while the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies offers a number of scholarships. But Mr. Barile believes a course targeted specifically at insurance leadership would help to get more Bermudians into the top jobs.

"There are many Bermudians involved in insurance and there is no reason why they should not get to the next level," Mr. Barile said.

Mr. Barile knows the Island well, serves on the board of a Bermuda reinsurer and is frequently hired by companies seeking advice on strategy.

He has seen the way the Island has acted as a magnet for insurance capital in the past, filling the capacity gap after events like Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, and the damaging hurricane season of 2005.

Some have suggested that the next new "wave" of insurance companies may set up elsewhere, because of concerns with work permit time limits, the high cost of doing business here and the Island's straining infrastructure.

"I believe the capital would come to Bermuda again," Mr. Barile said. "The people who know how it's done are here, in fact there are people who have set up new companies over and over again. The smart guys are ready right now, as they have their shelf registrations done."

A "shelf registration" allows a company to fulfil all registration-related procedures beforehand and so it can go to market quickly when conditions become more favourable.

"When you look at Dubai as a competitor, for example, it is new to insurance and is probably not sophisticated enough even to think about shelf registrations," Mr. Barile said.

"Bermuda's advantage is that it is truly global. Its companies have global structures in place. So it is used to dealing with international taxation rules and regulation in different parts of the world. Bermuda also does not hinder the growth of new ideas. In some other parts of the world, it becomes an obstacle when you have to convince people to be able to put new ideas into action."

Mr. Barile believes Bermuda companies will diversify during the ongoing soft market. "Judging by history, companies established to do catastrophe or terrorism business, when the market goes soft they tend to expand into the US market through primary insurance companies."