Reinsurer Swiss Re said Thursday that the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina in the southern United States will cost the industry about US$20 billion.
In a statement on Thursday, the number two player in the reinsurance business said it expected to receive claims for about US$500 million, making Katrina the most costly hurricane after Andrew in 1992.
Swiss Re said that complexity of damage caused by the storm and subsequent flooding meant that estimates had a "more than usual degree of uncertainty".
Company spokesman Henner Alms said it was also still too early after the disaster to make an accurate assessment.
"What makes it difficult to assess the real damage is the flooding that took place after the levees around New Orleans broke. Another factor is the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico that had to be evacuated before the storm hit," he said.