Katrina damage estimates reach $40-$60 billion

Risk Management Solutions Inc. has increased its estimates for damages stemming from Hurricane Katrina to between $40 and $60 billion in insured losses and more than $125 billion in total economic losses. The Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe modeling firm previously had estimated insured losses at $20 to $35 billion and economic losses at more than $100 billion.The revised estimates reflect an analysis the company performed to calculate the insured and uninsured loss components of flooding related to the storm, RMS said.