Lloyd's of London expects to incur a net loss of £1.4bn from paying out claims caused by Hurricane Katrina but insists it has enough resources to pay the bill.
The estimate is still only a first attempt to calculate the potential losses from the disaster which is being billed as the most complex and costliest insurered natural disaster in history.
The initial estimate of the loss compares with £1.3bn for four hurricanes which hit the US last year and is still less than the £2bn net loss incurred by Lloyd's after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Estimates have put total industry liabilities at more than £14bn.
