Swiss Re today proclaimed 2005 "the costliest year ever forinsurers" with estimated insured losses of $80 billion and 112,000deaths worldwide.

The Zurich-based reinsurer, in a preliminary estimate ofworldwide natural and man-made catastrophes this year, put totalfinancial losses at around $225 billion, $80 billion of which werecovered.

Natural and man-made catastrophes in 2005 accounted for $225billion in direct financial losses to buildings, infrastructure andvehicles, Swiss Re said.

Hurricane Katrina caused widespread flooding and stormdevastation, a total economic loss Swiss Re estimated to be at $135billion, followed by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma, which each added afurther $15 billion.

Damage from the earthquake in Pakistan was estimated at $5billion. No figure could yet be put on the damage created by thehuge fire in an oil depot near London this month. Of the totallosses worldwide, a third was covered by insurance, Swiss Readded.

At $80 billion, insured property losses were higher than everbefore. Almost 90 percent of this sum was due to storm andstorm-related flood damage.

Hurricane Katrina alone is expected to cost insurers $45billion. Before 2005, Hurricane Andrew (1992) had been the mostexpensive catastrophe ever, costing $22 billion, followed by theterrorist attack of Sept. 11 with just under $21 billion (at 2005prices).

Losses of $70 billion, or about 88 percent of all insuredcatastrophe losses in 2005, were recorded in the U.S.

In the Gulf of Mexico, hurricane damage to oil platforms anddrilling rigs triggered high insurance claims. A further $6billion, or 8 percent of insured losses, stemmed from Europe, SwissRe said.

Heavy rains in Switzerland, Germany and Austria caused floodingand landslides in August, with insured property and businessinterruption losses amounting to $1.9 billion. In Europe, a Januarywinter storm named Erwin cost $1.5 billion, mainly in Denmark,Sweden and the United Kingdom, the company reported.

Swiss Re cautioned that the full scale of the catastrophes in2005 has not yet been fully assessed, but the trend toward veryhigh losses appears to be continuing. This is due at least in partto increasing population densities, higher concentrations ofinsured values, and construction activity expanding into areas witha high natural-perils exposure.

The ongoing warm phase that has been measurable since the 1990sand the recent high hurricane frequency inspire little hope of thissevere weather trend being reversed any time soon, the companyconcluded.

Swiss Re said, of those killed in disasters, earthquakes claimedover 90,000 lives this year.