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

"You prepared well and kept your heads down indoors (with or without a bottle of something special)," Gov. Gozney said in a statement.

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

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

Indeed, Bermuda's preparation and strong building codes are being credited for relatively low levels of damage and insured losses from Hurricane Igor, which wreaked havoc far from the island, 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, power outages and downed trees, with no significant reports of roof damage.

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

Although Bermuda is a small target, Ms. Saith explained, it is accustomed 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 significant damage, according to RMS.

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

Allison Towlson, chair of Bermuda's Insurance Development Council, agreed that the island was "very fortunate during Hurricane Igor and we faired extremely well. Many residents lost power in their homes but the business center in Hamilton was unaffected. To my knowledge most insurance operations were up and running for business as usual on Tuesday."

She also noted that "many of us had remote access to technology during Monday while businesses were inspecting buildings to ensure safety for returning staff. We always prepare for the worst, and most entities have a business continuity plan to ensure there is no interruption of business activities after a hurricane."

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