Loss estimates roll in from Chile earthquake and European storms.

(From Reinsurance)

Byline: Staff

Estimates indicate the magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Chile on 27 February will bring high claims with modeling firms pointing to insured losses of $2bn to $8bn. In fact the earthquake could be the most expensive insured event in Latin American history, according to Cooper Gay.

If quake damage costs insurers $8bn, as predicted by Eqecat, it will be the second most expensive in history. It will follow only the Northridge, California, earthquake in 1994, which cost insurers $22bn, according to inflation-adjusted data compiled by Munich Re and the Insurance Information Institute.

However losses are expected to be "manageable" for Chilean insurers, according …