NU Online News Service, Sept. 22, 2:14 p.m. EDT

Bermuda, preparing for the worst, lucked out when HurricaneIgor's wallop was not as strong as anticipated.

Igor passed Bermuda late Sept. 19 as a Category 1 storm, withwinds around 70 mph. The entire island experienced hurricane-forcewinds since Sept. 18 as the storm approached because Igor's windsextended out 90 miles.

Modeler AIR Worldwide said it estimates insured losses from Igorwill likely be less than $100 million.

Tim Doggett, principal scientist at AIR, said Bermuda "dodged abullet," because Hurricane Igor was less than had been anticipated.Structures in Bermuda are required to withstand winds of 110 mphand gusts of up to 150 mph, he said.

Bermuda Governor Richard Gozney praised the "common sense" ofBermudians throughout the ordeal.

"You prepared well and kept your heads down indoors (with orwithout a bottle of something special)," Gov. Gozney said in astatement.

David Fox, director of the Bermuda Insurance Information Office,told NU Online News Service in an e-mail, "Bermudians havealways been proud of the fact that we are the most prepared peoplein the world for these storms, and many will tell you that if theyhave to experience a hurricane, they want to experience ithere where they are far more comfortable with the building code forresidential and commercial premises."

He added, "From childhood we learn that we prepare our homes andstay indoors. This is risk management 101."

Indeed, Bermuda's preparation and strong building codes arebeing credited for relatively low levels of damage and insuredlosses from Hurricane Igor, which wreaked havoc far from theisland, in the Canadian province of Newfoundland, said Neena Saith,senior response manager for modeler Risk Management Solutions(RMS).

Ms. Saith said damage was limited to some beach erosion, poweroutages and downed trees, with no significant reports of roofdamage.

Damages on the island "depend on the building stock and how wellpeople are prepared," she said. "The forecast of this storm wasvery consistent. The people of Bermuda had ample time to prepareand they were expecting the storm to be much worse."

Although Bermuda is a small target, Ms. Saith explained, it isaccustomed to hurricane risk and has stringent building codes.

Having found no success in Bermuda in terms of causing damage,Igor moved on to Newfoundland, where it has caused significantdamage, according to RMS.

Still a Category 1 hurricane with a large windfield, Igor onSept. 21 passed southeastern Newfoundland, where it blew roofs offhomes and toppled trees. The storm also has caused flooding,resulting in damage to homes, bridge collapses and roadwashouts.

Allison Towlson, chair of Bermuda's Insurance DevelopmentCouncil, agreed that the island was "very fortunate duringHurricane Igor and we faired extremely well. Many residents lostpower in their homes but the business center in Hamilton wasunaffected. To my knowledge most insurance operations were up andrunning for business as usual on Tuesday."

She also noted that "many of us had remote access to technologyduring Monday while businesses were inspecting buildings to ensuresafety for returning staff. We always prepare for the worst, andmost entities have a business continuity plan to ensure there is nointerruption of business activities after a hurricane."

Ms. Towlson cited two main reasons why Bermuda handleshurricanes well--"our robust construction standards mean thatBermuda's buildings are some of the most storm-proof in the world,and as evacuation of our tiny island with just over 65,000residents is not a real option, we know the drill and prepareextremely well in the face of these events."