Insurer facing bigger World Trade Centre bill

Royal & Sun Alliance says losses resulting from the World Trade Centre attacks will be £50m more than originally forecast.

The company now expects to face costs of up to £200m before tax relief and after reinsurance recoveries.

Royal & Sun Alliance was exposed to the impact of the attacks through aviation, property, worker compensation and business interruption policies.

A spokesman says it revised its estimate after consulting clients over the nature and extent of their losses.

The London-based firm writes nearly a quarter of its business on the other side of the Atlantic.

Further details of the losses are expected to be given in Royal's third-quarter results on November 8.

But the group says the full impact of the terror attacks on the insurance market will not be known for "a significant time".

Initial estimates have placed the total costs on the insurance industry at between £20bn and £33bn.

Earlier this year, Royal said it had lost £180m following its exposure to the severe flooding in the UK and Europe last autumn and winter.