Insurer XL Group PLC, with operations in Hartford, said Monday it estimates that damage claims from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan will cost it between $190 million to $290 million, The Associated Press reports.
The Bermuda-based company said that about 70 percent of the losses will be linked to XL’s reinsurance segment. The loss estimates are based on computer models and early information submitted by the company’s customers.
The wide range between loss estimates reflects the continued uncertainty around the disaster, including whether coverage levels will be reached under certain policies, the company said.
Analysts have said that the disaster may cost the global insurance industry as much as $60 billion, which would make the disaster the most expensive ever behind Hurricane Katrina.
But the impact on the biggest reinsurers will be less than it was from the global financial crisis, and the companies will likely be able to raise their rates in the wake of the disaster.
