the collapse of Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance, a London daily newspaper is reporting today.

The DTI is concerned that Bermuda Fire & Marine may have breached UK insurance laws covering asset/liability ratios, according to Lloyd's List, the country's biggest-selling insurance publication.

It quoted a DTI spokesman as saying: "A number of issues affecting this company and causing the DTI concern have come to our attention in the last few weeks which we are following up actively.'' Bermuda Fire & Marine's chairman, the Hon. Charles Collis, said the DTI was "barking up the wrong tree''.

"Quite clearly someone has said something to them and they are not saying too much about it at the moment,'' said Mr. Collis, in his first public comments on the row.

In order to take part in the London-based H.S. Weaver's underwriting pool -- the source of Bermuda Fire & Marine's financial problems -- the company had to be licensed in the UK, giving the DTI jurisdiction to investigate its affairs.

Bermuda Fire & Marine had an authorised UK branch until 1985 -- two years after it withdrew from Weaver's, said the newspaper.

But under UK insurance laws, it has to keep sufficient assets in the UK to meet future claims during the period its Weaver's stamp business is in run off, it reported.

Lloyd's List reported that the DTI was also concerned about the deal two years ago to split-up Bermuda Fire & Marine into two companies.

The Royal Gazette revealed earlier this week that US creditors have accused the 1991 directors of Bermuda Fire & Marine of stripping the company of more than $40 million worth of assets that would otherwise have been available to them. Bermuda Fire & Marine applied for voluntary liquidation on Tuesday, with creditors claiming the company had estimated potential liabilities of $100 million.

Mr. Collis said the Lloyd's List article "says absolutely nothing more than the DTI is looking into it''.

And allegations that the 1991 directors had stripped the assets of the company came from people who "do not know what they are talking about'', he said.

Mr. Collis said that creditors would benefit from the 1991 sale of the domestic business of Bermuda Fire & Marine, which he said was losing its value as time went on because of the burden of the company's international business.

A fuller report of Mr. Collis' views on the row will be published in Monday's Royal Gazette .