There are a record number of persons enrolled for the first time at this year's conference, 231 compared to 139 last year. Those attendees represent 42 states and nine countries. Last year they represented 38 states and six countries, Ms. Lambert said.

She said 25 percent of attendees are captive owners, "so that is a very good statistic," she said. "It's a good networking opportunity for the service providers and the exhibitors that are here."

The conference also has more seminars than ever?19 seminars compared to last year's 14, she said.

The conference theme, "Captive Solutions in a Changing World," is "very compelling," according to Ms. Lambert.

The theme was chosen to reflect some of the dramatic changes that occurred during the planning stages of the conference, Ms. Lambert explained.

"You had the slide in the economy that was occurring already, but then you had Sept. 11," as well as other situations in the world, she said.

The 75 percent of attendees that are not captive owners, Ms. Lambert said, are mostly made up of banks and service providers including legal and accounting firms.

Some of those new to the conference, however, and many of the inquiries that came prior to the conference were from risk managers, "who were just interested in the possibilities of forming a captive," she said.

She observed that the two diverse groups?those new to the captive industry and those who have been involved for years?are a good representation of the captive industry.

While the captive industry is still "about being innovative and entrepreneurial, it is also about an industry that is maturing and stable and is now recognized as a mainstream option," Ms. Lambert said.

To prove the point, she said, the two most popular pre-registered seminars were an advance-level seminar titled, "Reinsurance for the Alternative Market," and a basic seminar about forming a new captive.

Ms. Lambert said that Vermont's success as a domicile is unique because of the "unusual alliance between government and the private sector in relation to this industry."

She added that, "for some reason the legislative branch has taken pride in their ownership in this industry. It's the private and the public sectors working in a very effective way."