Finance Minister Paula Cox isn?t surprised that Lloyd?s of London, the world?s oldest insurance market, is downplaying the threat Bermuda poses as a rival.

?Unfortunately for them they are trying to close the door after the horse has already? bolted, she said in an interview yesterday.

And Ms Cox said Bermuda is working to keep its hard-won place as a leading insurance market by ensuring regulations and legislation maintain the competitive edge.

Bermuda?s insurers and reinsurers now count about $80 billion in combined capitalisation. In contrast the Lloyd?s market in November said its estimated capacity for 2006 was in the region of ?14.7 billion ($25.9 billion).

Ms Cox said London is now asking itself, ?how do we outfox those taking our business?. The London market recently unveiled a three-year plan to cut costs, a measure designed to stem the flow of business to rival markets, particularly Bermuda. Lloyd?s chairman Lord Levene downplayed the Bermuda rivalry to Reuters this week, speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, saying Bermuda?s market had to be put ?into perspective? and said ?it?s a good place to work but it?s a very small island of 60,000 people?.

The remarks come after some of Lloyd?s most established insurers ? Amlin Plc. and Hiscox Plc. ? tapped investors, and their own capital, to back new Bermuda units with a total of $1.5 billion. Richard Brindle, a Lloyd?s veteran, also made his move, setting up a third Bermuda reinsurer, Lancashire.

In total, about $10 billion in new capital has flowed into the Bermuda market in recent months to fund new insurance and reinsurance start-ups responding to an expected rise in prices after heavy 2005 hurricane losses.

Another $9 billion, by estimates, went into the coffers of companies already established in the Island?s market. ?Bermuda really is the place to be for that segment of the market,? Ms Cox said. ?We are a little tiny island, but it is as if we are separate from other island jurisdictions because we really are competing in a substantive way with onshore domiciles.?

She hastens to add that the Island?s reputation has to be continually worked at. ?Complacency is not an option for Bermuda.?

Ms Cox and the Finance Ministry routinely consult with the Island?s insurance market as well as other areas of the Bermuda business sector.

The huddles, and the recommendations of outside bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, which last year published an overall positive review of the Island?s regulatory standards, have resulted in a chart of 24 legislative tweaks now on the table for the coming year.

?You want to make sure you have the appropriate regulatory framework but that it is commercially viable and that we don?t have impediments? that could hurt the business environment, she said. ?You don?t want to throw the baby out with the bath water.?

Barriers or requirements on Bermuda companies that no longer make sense will be lifted. The litmus test is whether the change can be made without throwing off the Island?s carefully achieved balance between being well-regulated, and business friendly, Ms Cox said.

Some changes that could be made, pending Cabinet approval: Doing away with the requirement on companies to have annual general meetings. And minimum capital and surplus requirements for non-insurance companies could be removed.

?I am keen for us to be seen as nimble-footed,? Ms Cox said. ?That means we can?t just navel gaze. There has to be a time when you say cut, it is time for a decision.

?Sometimes we have bent over backwards to accommodate every interest. You can?t. Bermuda as a jurisdiction has to continually raise the bar to remain competitive.?

Bermuda has always taken a careful approach to its regulations, policies and laws. Ms Cox said this has put it at an advantage to some other offshore domiciles that have become overly rigid by rushing through laws. Bermuda wants to maintain that careful balance, she said, and also to be able to make decisions as quickly as possible.

?You can?t always wait until you get it just right if it is going to take nine months. That is not what helps Bermuda.?