Dubai has been touted as a new rival to the London insurance market by Lloyd's chief executive Richard Ward.

Bermuda, Dublin and other low-tax jurisdictions have traditionally been seen as the main competitors to London, but now the focus should be turned to the emergence of Dubai as a new major economic centre and insurance market, according to the man in charge of Lloyd's of London.

In comments to the Daily Telegraph newspaper in the UK, Mr. Ward said: "Local markets are developing. What is clearly happening globally is that a lot of risks are having more tendency to be placed locally, rather than internationally.

"The challenge is to respond to that and ensure we see risks that would come ultimately back to the marketplace."

And he suggested the emergence of Dubai was underlined by the recent announcement that Borse Dubai is to buy the Scandinavian stock exchange for $4.72 billion and then sell it immediately to the USA's Nasdaq and thereby become the largest investor within the Nasdaq.

Bradley Kading, president of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, expects Dubai to become a regional hub that will interact with, and complement, Bermuda and other established insurance centres.

He told The Royal Gazette: "The future for insurance buyers likely includes the ability to access insurance markets from multiple locations. Historical centres like the US, London and continental Europe will remain influential.

"New centres like Bermuda, Ireland, Dubai and Singapore will become convenient hubs for certain markets. Bermuda's global insurers and reinsurers will operate from multiple locations.

"Many ABIR members already have US and European operations. Locations will be selected based on the ability for buyers to easily access markets and based on a government's ability to create and support regulation appropriate to the wholesale markets."

Mr. Kading said this would allow insurers to efficiently operate while providing confidence about financial stability.

He added: "Much as London and Bermuda have become complementary to each other, similar relationships may develop with other competitive jurisdictions. There is a competition going on for capital and talent. No one jurisdiction will have a lock on a market, but geography, regulation, government support and quality of life will all factor into domiciliary decisions."