NEW YORK, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The first estimate of economic losses from Hurricane Katrina has been put at $100 billion.
The new figures suggest that Hurricane Katrina will cost the insurance industry more than any other natural disaster on record, the New York Times said Saturday.
In making its estimate, Risk Management Solutions in Newark, Calif., said that private insurance probably would cover less than a quarter of that, with federal money and charitable contributions possibly handling the rest.
Company forecasters said that insured losses would range from $20 billion to $35 billion.
But there is far more that commercial insurers likely will not absorb, such as damage to roads, highways, utilities and public buildings, as well as the cost of government relief efforts. There is also the huge cost of not doing business, which the firm estimated at $100 million a day.
Katrina's price tag is expected to pass Hurricane Andrew in 1992, which cost $21 billion in 2004 dollars.
