Bermuda's captive market continues to hold its own on the global stage, according to the latest survey unveiled by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) yesterday.

The Captive Market Survey 2010, which looks at trends and insights into the industry, was presented by Traver Alexander, research officer from the policy, research and risk assessment department at the BMA, on the final day of the Bermuda Captive Conference at the Fairmont Southampton.

The BMA carried out the annual survey, which is in its fourth year, in conjunction with the Bermuda Insurance Management Association focusing on the global and Bermuda captive markets based on provisional estimates from 2009 collected from more than 50 percent of the market and data spanning the past seven years.

The survey revealed that gross written premiums by captives fell by 4.5 percent to $18.8 billion in 2009 from $19.7 billion in 2008, compared to three percent to $7.5 billion for the Cayman Islands, driven by a scaling back in US property and casualty insurance for the past 12 straight quarters.

Total gross premiums by location of underlying risk insured was 71.6 percent in North America, 13.9 percent globally and seven percent in Europe.

Some of the most significant parent company industries last year included health care (12 percent), manufacturing (nine percent) and retail (six percent), while the number of new captive start-ups between 2005 and 2009 by industry of the parent company consisted of 12 percent construction, 12 percent energy and 12 percent financial institutions as the key players.

Premium shares of industry groupings for 2009 were accounted for mainly by energy (22 percent or $4 billion) and technology and telecoms (10 percent).

In terms of property lines of business last year, property damage and business interruption led the way with a 52.1 percent share, while marine hull and cargo made up 8.9 percent and agriculture 8.5 percent of the total.

Workers' compensation/employers' liability (35.9 percent) and general liability (33.4 percent) topped the list for casualty lines of business during 2009.

Turning to the balance sheet, Mr. Alexander said that total assets had increased by 2.3 percent between 2008 and 2009 to $90.2 billion from $88.3 billion and had risen by 75 percent from $51.6 billion since 2003.

Meanwhile the loss ratio for 2009 was at its lowest since the survey was launched at 6.4 percent, while the expense ratio stood at 13 percent last year, versus 11 percent in 2003.

"The market acts as something like a stand in or as a mirror for the global insurance market," said Mr. Alexander of the Bermuda captive market in summing up his findings.

"The Bermuda market should not be especially suspectible to market volatility and it is not a niche market.

"The market has shown expansion in recent years in the US and also other places, with Europe providing an area in which Bermuda captives showed increased business activity in 2008/09."