The magnitude 7.0 January earthquake that caused catastrophicdeath and destruction in Haiti created hundreds of millions ineconomic damage, but insurance coverage for losses is minimal,according to modeling firms.

Risk Management Solutions (RMS) of Newark, Calif., cited datafrom London-based AXCO insurance information services listing Haitias one of the smallest markets in the Americas, with a totalnon-life premium income of just under $20 million.

Insurance penetration is extremely low at around 0.3 percent ofHaiti's gross domestic product. Most insured risks are inPort-au-Prince, with motor insurance accounting for 50 percent ofall non-life premiums, RMS said.

Eqecat catastrophe risk modeling firm in Oakland, Calif.estimated economic damages from the quake to be “in the hundreds ofmillions of dollars.”

RMS said buildings in the region tend to be built with heavymaterials with little or none of the lateral reinforcing needed forearthquake resistance.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 80percent of the population living under the poverty line and morethan 50 percent in abject poverty.

“As rural poor migrate to the major cities they often take upresidence in shanty towns on the city margins. They live inself-constructed homes, built using available materials,” said MaryLou Zoback, vice president for Earthquake Risk Applications at RMS.“This substandard construction cannot stand up to the frequenthurricanes, landslides and earthquakes that strike so many capitalcities such as in Latin America, including Port-au-Prince.”

The last major earthquake to hit Port-au-Prince occurred in1770, causing 250 deaths and extensive damage. In recent years,only relatively minor earthquakes have been recorded, such as thosein 1990 and 1994, with minimal to no damage, RMS said.