More Lloyd?s of London companies will move to Bermuda because the people who are putting up the cash for re/insurance are demanding better value for their investments, according to industry leaders.

This week a leading Lloyd?s stalwart, Hiscox, announced it would be re-domiciling to Bermuda in a bid to drive up profits and its profile.

Robert Hiscox, chairman, said that the insurer that his father founded in 1946 was moving from Britain, which has a 30 percent corporation tax rate, to Bermuda, which has a zero percent rate, by the end of the year.

The move was the talk of the town at the annual reinsurance conference in Monte Carlo, Les Rendez-Vous de Septembre, with speculation that others would follow.

?It is all about tax avoidance, but no one is willing to admit it,? said one London market observer at the Bermuda party overlooking the famous Casino yesterday. ?And that is what the investors want ? to have more money back for their buck.?

Hiscox is a massive player on the market, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250, with a half year gross profit of $116 million and gross written premium of ?625 million for the half year.

Last year the company announced it would look at moving to Bermuda and also set up Hiscox Bermuda after prices in certain sectors soared following the 2005 storm season.

Other Lloyd?s companies including Amlin and Omega Underwriting also set up operations as part of the Class of 2005. Catlin is the only other Lloyd?s company to be domiciled in Bermuda where it has been since 2002. Wellington Underwriting is also looking at setting up a Bermudian operation.

Jim Bryce, chairman and chief executive of IPC Re, said: ?This is not revolution, but evolution.?

He said as far as he was concerned, it was ?almost a non-event? because Hiscox had already opened up Hiscox Bermuda and sent out one of its most senior men, Robert Childs, to head up the operation.

?It is a natural progression. It is a fine organisation. You can diversify through class, territory or peril. They have chosen territory.?

Caroline Foulger, partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Bermuda, was yesterday also in the capital of Monaco supporting Bermuda at their annual cocktail bash, hosted by the largest contingent of Bermudians that have ever been seen at the five-day event.

She said Bermuda would welcome the newcomers with open arms.

?Having a critical mass of a company such as Hiscox in Bermuda come to us (in Bermuda) is of considerable benefit,? she said adding that companies were moving because of pressure from the capital markets to bring in returns.

Lower tax and lighter regulation allow Bermuda-based insurers to quote lower premiums for international reinsurance. Brokerage fees in Bermuda are also lower, at ten percent rather than 15 percent in London.

A report issued by Standard & Poors on Monday said recent start-ups such as those formed in Bermuda had demonstrated to the industry as a whole that there are potentially material gains to be made from managing businesses with a global rather than a local market mindset.

It highlighted the tax benefits of moving to Bermuda but also said London still had a lot to offer.

?Many business lines, particularly those of a specialty nature, can increasingly be described as ?footloose?: they can be underwritten anywhere, and there are a growing number of international insurance centres keen to offer them, and the organisations following them, a home.?

Bill Keogh, executive vice president and global managing director at Risk Management Solutions, said ?Wow? when he heard the news of Hiscox moving domicile.

He added: ?It is part of the market trying to put capital in the most efficient places.?

Don Kramer, industry veteran and chief executive officer of Ariel Re, said: ?Welcome to Bermuda!?

But he also added that it was a change in the capital markets that was driving the moves to Bermuda.

He said: ?The New York Stock Exchange is no longer the Mecca, there has been a rise in companies listed on AIM (a smaller alternative exchange in the UK) and the London Stock Exchange.?

But Dennis Mahoney, chief executive of Aon UK, the brokerage firm, said that Bermuda was not a threat to London.?As a broker, we are an advocate of the client,? he said. ?At Aon, that means we are neutral about where the business is placed, so long as it is in the client?s best interest.?

He added that competition is healthy. ?It prevents London and also Lloyd?s from resting on their laurels.

?It demonstrates that Lloyd?s companies are asking themselves ?How can we be more competitive and how can we deliver a better service to our clients?,? he said. ?Let?s face it, we have not seen anyone yet close their London operations to move to Bermuda.?