Bermuda may have lost its advantage as a captive domicile according to risk managers who addressed the PLUS Bermuda Perspective Symposium this week.

While Bank of America Corporation is still happy with its captive domiciled here, bank vice president Kim Giowish noted that it is no longer necessary to hop on a plane in North Carolina and spend half a day flying to get to Bermuda. Rather, she can just hop in a car and drive a few hours to South Carolina.

?Logistically, it would probably be easier,? she said. ?There is no tax difference to us by setting up in South Carolina so one does have to question that.?

She added: ?The domestic domiciles have a potential to come on in a robust way for US-based buyers who want the convenience.?

Staffing is another downside in the onshore versus offshore debate, according to Richard Price, director of risk management and insurance for Delta Air Lines. His company has captives in Bermuda as well as Vermont. Onshore there is greater continuity of staff while offshore expatriate staff come and go every few years, he suggested.

?I do business with the same people in Vermont as when we started six years ago, whereas here in Bermuda I?m on the fourth day-to-day person on the captive side,? he said, adding however, that on the upper levels staffing is somewhat steadier.

With a growing number of captive domiciles in the US, he notes that many corporations may prefer onshore since there is less of a ?perception issue?.

Aetna Inc. is also happily domiciled in Bermuda and Edward Molloy, its head of risk management finance and treasurers, noted another trend when it comes to alternative risk transfer. When he started with Aetna the majority of the company?s budget was spent on buying insurance. Now a majority is spent on self insurance programmes which he said is a sign of a growing trend that a lot of money has clearly walked away from the marketplace.

?What does that say? That says the people that are the professional risk takers are saying that the customer knows or can manage that risk better than they can,? he said.

The risk mangers suggested the steady growth in alternative risk transfer is a reaction to the tendency in the underwriting community in general to exit business lines completely whenever there are large losses.

Ms. Giowish said: ?They say they won?t write that line anymore and that seems to me exactly the point in the game where they want to stay engaged ? albeit participating a different way or at a different attachment point ? but to continue both the relationship and to continue the viability of the risk transfer product.?

Looking at the Bermuda market specifically, the risk mangers said that capacity as well as one-stop shopping in so few square miles, brain power, and balance sheet strength remain its key advantages. However, there is still opportunity for Bermuda to step into more of a primary role.

?My experience is Bermuda limits Bermuda,? said Mr. Price. ?There would be a receptive market to considering a Bermuda market as a lead.?

The decision is really in the hands of the Bermuda markets themselves who must decide whether they are really interested in looking to listen to the buyer and meet the needs that exist, he said.

Given the overall quality of underwriting in the Bermuda marketplace and the fact that the Island is just a few hours flight from mainland USA, J. Gary Meggs, director of risk management services and environmental health and safety for Sprint Nextel Corporation, does not see the market?s distance as an impediment to actually dropping down and taking a role as a primary player.

?One way to take control of your own destiny is write from bottom up and so, I think there is a tremendous opportunity for Bermuda. The level of expertise is here now so, there is opportunity written all over this,? he said.