LONDON (Reuters) – Superstorm Sandy won't put insurers' finances under severe strain, and may allow them to push through a profit-boosting rise in prices next year, Hiscox , the biggest London-listed reinsurer, said on Monday.

Sandy killed at least 113 and caused severe damage across a swathe of the north-eastern United States including New York last week. According to early estimates, insurers face a claims bill of up to $20 billion, potentially making Sandy the U.S.'s fourth-costliest natural catastrophe ever.

But the industry should be able to cope, as the storm falls well within the range of catastrophe scenarios insurers use to test their balance sheets, Hiscox Chief Executive Bronek Masojada said.

“It's within the zone of what we model for this sort of thing, which is why it's going to be manageable for us and for the rest of the industry as well,” Masojada told Reuters.

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