Bermuda's underwriters are seen as a threat in the London market, according to a recent survey of broker opinion.

While brokers praised the London insurance market overall a number warned rivals, especially Bermuda, were more efficient, and warned against complacency, according to the survey, which was published in the June issue of Reactions magazine.

One broker said, "London continues to lose ground to the overseas markets, particularly Bermuda," according to the report.

Another respondent was even blunter, according to Reactions. "If Lloyd's continues to do business as normal, Bermuda is going to wipe London off the map," said the unnamed broker, one of more than 100 brokers that participated in the survey.

The brokers canvassed were 68 percent based in the UK, two percent were working out of Asia and Bermuda, respectively, and 18 percent of the respondent brokers were US-based.

The rivalry between Bermuda and the London market has been heating up since a number of London insurers active at Lloyd's, the world's oldest insurance market, set up Bermuda units. The two most high profile were Amlin and Hiscox, which formed Bermuda units late last year, alongside other start-ups responding to an expected rise in rates, particularly for property-catastrophe policies, in 2006, after last year's record hurricane activity.

Even amongst London's best underwriters, those at Bermuda firms doing business in the UK were prominently placed.

For product range, expertise/knowledge of the field, and reputation/brand, Ace's UK underwriters ranked first. Ace also ranked in the top five for flexibility/ability to offer tailor-made solutions; claims handling ability; ease of access to underwriters and best underwriters for political risk, and property.

And XL Re was voted as having the best team of reinsurance underwriters in the London market. Aspen was ranked second, after Kiln, for its property reinsurance team.

More generally, underwriters were praised for having a good understanding of the market but concerns were raised over the increasing number of underwriters being employed with little or no experience, as senior underwriters retired.

"The retirement of seasoned, experienced underwriters will dilute the traditional continuity for which London and Lloyd's is well known," said one broker quoted in the report.

Claims paying willingness was another area of concern, raised in the broker survey.

While brokers, from around the world, warned that Bermuda underwriters may be gaining on the UK counterparts, at least one Bermuda insurer, Amlin Bermuda, has said it is committed to using brokers in the London market for business placed with its Bermuda unit.