The formation of rent-a-captives jumped by 20 percent world-wide - but there is no statistical information to say how Bermuda did in this type of formation.

And 50 percent of all new insurance is now being formed in alternative markets, according to Captive Insurance Company Reports June 2003 issue.

"When will the commercial insurance market truly take notice that nearly 50 percent of all insurance is now in the alternative markets such as captives?" said the report. "What other industry would lose 50 percent of its share and ignore it."

The monthly publication said that in compiling data for the segregated cell - or rent-a-captives - data "no information was available at time of publication" for Bermuda and on the formation of cells on the Island "information on the number of cells is not compiled by Bermuda regulators".

This leaves Bermuda, which is the largest captive domicile in the world, out of the running for a place at the top of the list which has a total of 523 cells and 126 companies listed under segregated cell companies for 2002.

But it added that Bermuda's Segregated Cell legislation did not become effective until November 2000, with no formations until 2001. The figures show Cayman at the top of the list with 302 cells and 60 "segregated portfolio" companies, and Guernsey with 214 cell and 50 "protected cell" companies.

These two were listed as the biggest players, with stragglers Vermont, Gibraltar, British Virgin Islands and Washington also listed. "Segregated cell companies leaped by 20 percent," said the monthly magazine. "In the two major segregated cell domiciles, Guernsey and Cayman, there was a 45.8 percent increase in the number of cells.

"Insurance brokers and agents often sponsor these cells. Because the capital required is less, and this concept is often introduced by insurance agents themselves and not by risk managers, it attracts smaller organisations."

The publication went on to say that these organisations were heavily impacted by the hard market and are finding segregated cells to be an attractive form of self-insurance.