Bermuda’s impact at this year’s Risk and Insurance Management Society’s conference in Philadelphia has been hailed a success by Michael Dunkley, the Premier.

The four-day conference concluded yesterday with a closing keynote speech from Michael J. Fox, star of the film The Secret of My Success. The evening before, Mr Dunkley summed up the secret of Bermuda’s success as the combined efforts and energy of “Team Bermuda”.

He made the observation at the Bermuda reception, an annual networking event hosted by the island during Rims. The reception attracts industry leaders winding down at the end of the day, and offers them a taste of Bermudian hospitality.

The reception was held on board the historic, four-masted windjammer Moshulu, which appeared in a number of films, including Rocky.

As rain lashed the sides of the 114-year-old ship, and grey clouds filled the skies, Mr Dunkley welcomed guests and joked that the “dark and stormy weather” had been specially arranged to complement the Dark ’n’ Stormies being served at the bar by Gosling’s Rum. The reception was hosted by the Bermuda Business Development Agency, in partnership with Gosling’s Rum and the Bermuda Tourism Authority.

Rims 2017 attracted 10,000 insurance industry leaders, and more than 400 exhibitors. Bermuda maintained its prominent position at the event with its two-storey exhibit hall booth, and a large delegation who met with clients, appeared on discussion panels, and networked for future business for the island.

“Rims has gone well. It’s a critical part of the calendar,” Mr Dunkley told The Royal Gazette. “We continue to fly the Bermuda flag and answer any questions that people might have.”

During a busy four days, Mr Dunkley and other members of the Bermuda group were interviewed by media, including Bloomberg News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, reinsurance magazine Reactions, AM Best TV, and Rims TV. They also held side meetings with other groups, including members of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and business leaders.

“As the Premier, I take on a very aggressive schedule. We have also been well served by ministers Grant Gibbons and Bob Richards, by Jeremy Cox and the Bermuda Monetary Authority, the BDA, the BTA, and industry representatives. They know that it is a team that works well.”

David Burt, leader of the Progressive Labour Party, also visited the Bermuda booth and attended the reception event.

Mr Dunkley said: “I’m glad that the opposition leader came, because it shows that when we leave Bermuda’s shores we put politics aside and we work together for the island.”

Senator Kim Wilkerson, the shadow economic development minister also attended Rims.

In a statement, the PLP said the opposition wanted to present “a unified front to promote Bermuda business in what is sure to be an election year”.

Mr Burt said: “It is important that lawmakers join together to advance Bermuda’s interests within the international investment community. While we may spar here at home, when we are abroad our priority must be to promote Bermuda as economic growth is important for the prosperity of our country.”

Senator Wilkerson said the PLP had “always advocated for bipartisan approaches to major issues of the day such as immigration and tax reform”, an approach that would continue if the party wins power at the election.

Mr Dunkley was officially welcomed to the event by Mary Roth, chief executive officer of Rims.

In a speech at the conference on Monday, the first by a Bermuda Premier at Rims, Mr Dunkley gave an overview of the island’s history, its links with the US, and its ability to innovate and have a “supersized” impact in the world of insurance and reinsurance. He also highlighted the island’s hosting of the America’s Cup, something that together with Brexit and possible US tax changes, was a big talking point for Bermuda at Rims.

Mr Dunkley’s executive leadership speech was recorded and is expected to be used in the future on “many channels”.

Regarding the meeting with the marketing and business arm of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and business leaders from the area, the Premier said it had gone well, adding: “The potential there is significant.”

He and Mr Richards, the finance minister, also visited Temple University’s Fox School of Business, which currently has two students from Bermuda in its risk management and insurance programme. Lady Carmela Robinson and Quaejah Cox will graduate next year. The ministers toured the school and met its insurance students.

Temple has a long association with Bermuda. Moshe Porat, dean of the school of risk management, played a role in drafting the legislative and financial framework for setting up captive companies in Bermuda.

The university has two captive insurance companies in Bermuda, one was formed in 1989, the other in 1998. Now the students want to create their own captive in Bermuda, which would make them only the second-known student-run captive industry company.

It was announced at the start of the week that risk management and insurance programme students at Butler University’s Lacy School of Business, in Indianapolis, have been granted licensing approval from the Bermuda Monetary Authority to launch a captive that will insure a variety of risks for the university, including its fine art collection. The students visited Bermuda this month and met service providers Aon, KPMG and Conyers. This week at Rims, representatives of Butler University dropped by at the Bermuda booth.

Our reporter travelled to the Rims conference courtesy of JetBlue Aiways, which provided flights between Bermuda and New York.