Putting wellbeing first

Bermuda’s re/insurers provide vital support to the Island’s health charities, not only with financial donations but with expertise and volunteer time.

Bermuda’s health sector is unusual in that the third sector plays a major role in providing health services in a range of different areas, from care and prevention to advocacy. 

The Bermuda government has overall responsibility for healthcare and the bulk of care is financed through private insurance and government grants, but hospitals are managed by the Bermuda Hospitals Board, which has a charitable arm. 

More broadly, charities and foundations provide a range of support and advocacy services for illnesses from cancer and dementia to heart disease.

Much of this work depends on charitable donations which are raised through events and donations. 

Given that good healthcare can make the difference between life and death, corporate support is vital. 

Corporate donors provide support in myriad ways including direct and matching donations, sponsoring events and fundraisers, and employees giving their time in community days at events and also by serving as volunteers and on boards.  

In many ways, re/insurance and healthcare are a natural fit. Local health insurers are an important part of this and support many health charities, but international property casualty and life re/insurance companies deal with issues of life and death and understand the fundamental structures that underpin health services. Many specialty re/insurers directly provide insurance coverage to health providers around the world. 

As a consequence, re/insurance companies and their staff contribute in many ways, including through their own management expertise and transferrable skills. 

Most charities require funds to maintain their operations and to invest in capital-intensive projects, and re/insurers have been astoundingly generous over the years. 

That funding makes a difference at many levels. People who are often the most vulnerable in society get care they would not receive otherwise. 

Second, it means that people are more aware of some of the diseases and illnesses to which they can fall prey and can take steps to prevent them or to mitigate the effects. 

Third, the burden of delivering this care does not fall on the government and therefore the taxpayer. Given that the cost of, and need for, healthcare are going to continue to increase as the Bermuda population ages, this is very important. 

Three such healthcare charities are described below. 

P.A.L.S. 

P.AL.S. has been providing at-home nursing support to cancer patients since 1980 and now spends more than $5,000 a day on patient care. It employs an executive director, a medical director, six specialised nurses, a medical social worker, two administrators, and two consultants for its thrift shop.

It depends primarily upon financial donations to run its operations. 

It is chaired by Will Wharton, the head of Argo Insurance Bermuda, who succeeded Gavin Arton, the former chairman of BF&M and a long-time re/insurance executive. Argo raised money for breast cancer awareness in 2022. 

The Conduit Foundation, the charitable arm of Conduit Re, and Hiscox Re & ILS also contribute to P.A.L.S. 

To find out more visit pals.bm 

Action on Alzheimer’s & Dementia

Alzheimer’s and the broader disease of dementia encompass some of the most devastating and psychologically difficult-to-understand conditions, for sufferers and their families and friends. 

While progress has been made in recent years in researching the causes and treatments, dementia remains little understood, posing challenges for health professionals and carers. 

Action on Alzheimer’s & Dementia was founded by Markel executive Elizabeth Stewart when she discovered the paucity of information and resources for the disease after mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 67. 

Since then, Action on Alzheimer’s has become the leading support group and advocate for patients and families, raising awareness and providing resources to sufferers, their families and carers and health professionals. 

Stewart remains the president of the charity, while Grainne Richmond, the former president of the Bermuda Insurance Management Association and a leading captive insurance company manager, is vice president. 

Its corporate partners all come from the re/insurance sector and include Argus, AXA XL, Conduit Re, Markel and the QBE Foundation. 

To find out more visit aad.bm 

Bermuda Cancer & Health Centre 

The Bermuda Cancer & Health Centre is the primary cancer support and advocacy organisation on the Island. 

It offers detection services including mammography, breast biopsies, and bone densitometry for detection of osteoporosis as well as advice on prevention. Its treatment services include radiation therapy in collaboration with Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Centre in Boston. 

To fund its services, Bermuda Cancer & Health Centre relies on public donations and runs a plethora of fundraising events, the best known of which is the Relay for Life, which takes place each year at the beginning of May. Thousands of people join a 24-hour relay at the North Field of the Flora Duffy Stadium. 

Liberty Mutual is the presenting sponsor of this important event while CG Insurance and Sun Life International are platinum sponsors. 

Other re/insurers and re/insurance service companies who are sponsors of the event include AIG, Athene, Ark, Carey Olsen, Chubb, Conduit Re, EY, Everest Group, Hannover Re, KPMG, Mosaic, PwC, QBE and SiriusPoint. Many of these companies enter teams to walk for 24 hours and to take part in a fun day for all the family. 

BF&M sponsors another major event for Bermuda Cancer & Health: the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk which aims to raise $200,000 for breast cancer detection and prevention. 

To find out more visit www.cancer.bm 

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