Munich Re Preliminary Estimate of Insured Loss from Katrina at $15-$20B

A Munich Re spokesman told news organizations on Tuesday that the world’s largest reinsurer’s preliminary estimates of insured losses from Hurricane Katrina would be in the $15 to $20 billion range.

The estimate would put the savage category 4 storm that struck the U.S. Gulf Coast Monday morning in a class with 1992’s Hurricane Andrew, as one of the costliest natural disasters even to hit the U.S. Andrew cost around $16 billion at the time, $21 billion in today’s dollars.

Munich Re indicated that it expects its own share of the damage claims to be approximately 400 million euros ($490 million) pretax, but not including reinsurance recoveries.

The spokesman reiterated that the company did not anticipate any material affect on its earnings forecasts.