Tsunami and hurricane disasters costs Zurich €144m

Swiss insurance giant Zurich Financial Services today said the Asian tsunami and a string of hurricanes would cost it $185m (€144m) in the fourth quarter.

The group, which owns the Eagle Star and Allied Dunbar brands, said it expected claims from the St Stephen's Day disaster to reach about $65m (€50m) after taxes.

The company also increased the total of expected claims from four hurricanes that hit the US and the Caribbean last August and September, including Frances and Ivan, from $400m (€311m) to $520m (€404m) after taxes – leaving it with a fourth quarter bill for an extra $120m (€93.4m).

“These revisions arise from the difficulty of modelling the unusual sequence of storms, striking the same area more than once and causing flooding losses in addition to wind damage,” Zurich Financial said. “These charges will not materially affect the group’s financial strength.”

Zurich has the bulk of its operations in North America and Europe. It employs 62,000 people.

It said in August that its Irish, UK and South Africa trading region achieved a 48% rise in general insurance profits to $187m (€145m) and a 31% gain in life insurance profits to $153m (€119m).