Katrina estimates reach $35 billion

Two reinsurance companies estimate the industry loss as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina will be in the range of $30 billion to $35 billion.OdysseyRe Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ORH) estimated the aggregate industry loss will be approximately $30 billion, while Bermuda-based PartnerRe predicted the loss will be in the range of $30 billion to $35 billion.OdysseyRe noted the scope and nature of the devastation in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama as a result of the storm makes it difficult to come up with accurate projections."We believe that Katrina may be the largest insured event in history, but its economic impact is dwarfed by incalculable cost in human lives, pain and suffering," PartnerRe president & CEO Patrick Thiele said.Both OdysseyRe and PartnerRe noted Katrina occurred in addition to a number of other large loss events in the quarter — including five aviation losses, Atlantic hurricanes Dennis and Emily, two typhoons in Japan and China, and flooding in India and Central Europe. Thiele said "these events are within PartnerRe’s modeled exposures and well within our financial capacity to meet them.”OdysseyRe noted that during the third quarter of 2005 alone, its net losses before taxes due to Hurricane Katrina are expected to be between $80 million and $100 million. This represents an after-tax net loss of $52 million to $65 million. OdysseyRe estimated aggregate net losses, before taxes, from Hurricanes Dennis and Emily, and the floods in India and Europe — all of which occurred during the third quarter of 2005 — to be between $30 million and $35 million or $20 million to $23 million on an after-tax basis.