Joining start-up Relm Insurance was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity, an underwriter said.

Donavan Burgess joined Relm last May as SVP, underwriter – digital assets, cyber and professional lines after spending just under seven years at Axa XL Bermuda, where he was an AVP on the cyber-risk team.

He said: “I was interested in embracing a new opportunity that would allow me to experience something that the Bermuda market doesn’t traditionally offer, that would challenge me in a way that I was constantly thinking outside of the box, embracing new risk, and the possibility to pioneer new products that the world has never seen before. Relm kind of ticked all of those boxes.”

Mr Burgess added: “It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. I saw it as kind of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make a name for myself in the industry in a very different way than other people have been able to craft a career in this space.”

Denzel Simons joined Relm as senior underwriter for financial and professional lines last September after seven years at Chubb Bermuda, where he worked in excess casualty, underwriting Fortune 1000 risks.

He said: “It was a very exciting phone call that I received last year from Joe. This is an exciting opportunity to join an insurance company that is leading this space, supporting the digital asset ecosystem. No one else is doing this.”

Mr Simons added: “The exciting thing about Relm is we’re innovators. We are approaching a new industry class with open eyes, open arms, and a traditional underwriting approach.

“This is a good opportunity to be an innovator and a pioneer in a new space.”

On the finance side, Carol Faries joined Relm as its first employee in 2020, initially part-time and then full-time from September 2021.

Ms Faries, who is the SVP, finance and accounting, spent 16 years on the property casualty side at BF&M, where she was the assistant controller, and three years at Bermuda Cancer and Health as controller.

She said she saw a “lot of potential for growth” working for a start-up like Relm, which is plugging a gap in the market.

Trevor Nelson is VP, Risk at Relm concentrating on governance and risk management, after serving as head of internal audit at Armour Risk Management, a legacy carrier.

He joined Relm full-time in the autumn of 2021, and said the nature of a start-up is that there are a variety of tasks because “there is everything to do”.

Mr Nelson added: “Bermuda is the kind of place where you are going to get these opportunities, which is why we are very lucky – all of us.”

Aside from hiring local talent, Relm is ensuring that young Bermudians interested in the insurance industry are provided support.

Relm awards two annual scholarships through the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies – and has hired three BFIS scholarship winners: underwriters Mr Simons and Yasser Baia, plus accountant Brianna Correia.

Current scholarship recipient Jayden Williams-Woodley will work at Relm this summer as an intern.

Last year, Relm offered an internship through ConnecTech, and Kiundae Tuzo will rejoin the company this summer for a second year.

It also sponsors an internship through the Bermuda Human Resource Association.