By Katherine Griffiths
London - Lloyd's of London is confronting one of the biggest crises in its 300-year history as its analysts assess the financial cost of the devastation and loss of life in the United States terror attacks.
Amid predictions that the total bill will run to tens of billions of pounds, the attacks have come at a dreadful time for the London insurance market, where finances are still recovering from a series of hefty payouts in the past decade.
Its loss adjusters are working around the clock to quantify the exact level of Lloyd's exposure.
Lloyd's chairman Sax Riley says it is still impossible to put a price on the loss. "The tragic events in the United States this week have generated the most complex set of insurance liabilities and interdependences the industry has ever seen," he says.
So far, estimates for the total costs in claims have varied widely, with some insurance analysts expecting the final bill to be in the region of R350-billion. Claims on life insurance policies will form the largest part of the claims, with the bill from the destroyed buildings and planes - and loss of earnings - also stacking up.
If claims do reach this level, it would be the largest cost the insurance industry has ever faced.
The largest to date was the R13,6-billion that the Hurricane Andrew clear-up operation cost after it devastated the US east coast in 1992.
Many British insurers have already said they face claims following the US attacks - but it will be the Lloyd's market which will be liable for the largest share of costs. - The Star Foreign Service