NU Online News Service, Oct. 25, 2:58 p.m.EDT

Despite the devastation and billions of dollars in economicdamage that Turkey has suffered from Sunday's 7.2 magnitudeearthquake, the insurance industry's burden should be minimal withone loss estimate at up to $200 million.

Eqecat issued a report late yesterday estimating that insurancelosses from the earthquake could range from $100 to $200 million.Total economic damage is put in “low single-digit billions.”

The economic damage is about “one-tenth that from the 1999magnitude 7.6 Izmit earthquake in western Turkey and 10 times thedamage from the 2010 magnitude 6.1 earthquake in eastern Turkey,”says Eqecat.

Eqecat notes that residential buildings throughout the easternpart of the nation are not constructed to withstandearthquakes.

Insurance losses are to be assumed by the Turkish CatastropheInsurance Pool, a national compulsory earthquake insurance forresidential buildings. The program was initiated in 2000 tominimize the rebuilding cost to the central government. It isbacked primarily by international reinsurers, Eqecat says. Limitsper policy are approximately $30,000 with 2 percent deductible.

TCIP penetration is somewhere around 20 percent, Eqecatestimates, and take-up in the east, where the earthquake occurred,is less than the national average.

The modeler says that its insured-loss estimate is based ondamage to residential buildings.

The earthquake region, centered 9 miles West-Northwest of Van,Turkey, has suffered hundreds of aftershocks.

ABC News reports the death count is nearing 400 and morethan 1,300 injured. A two week old infant and mother were rescued47 hours after the earthquake as rescue workers race to save asmany as they can.