London is still the best place for insurers to do business, according to Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Levene.

“At Lloyd’s we had the best year ever in 2009 and that is a reflection of the market’s standing,” he says in a statement. “We are the most trusted brand in insurance.”

Lord Levene says places like Dublin, Zurich and Bermuda are increasingly finding favour with insurers and reinsurers as places to put their headquarters, thanks to the UK’s uncompetitive tax policies.

“Right now the UK doesn’t have the most attractive tax regime in the world, but it is encouraging that the new government has promised to bring down the headline rate of corporation tax [from 28% to 24% by 2015],” he said.

A new survey by accountants Grant Thornton backs Lord Levene’s comments, according to Lloyd’s. The survey of 30 insurance company leaders concluded that London is the key location for the global insurance industry.

The company’s Head of Financial Services, Peter Allen, says the numbers and the comments in the research confirm that access to markets is overwhelmingly the key criteria when insurers choose a head office location.

“London still remains a key location for this reason, with other domiciles struggling to compete with what London has to offer in terms of staff, infrastructure and effective means of distribution,” he said.