When looking at photos of a destroyed San Francisco in 1906, thequestion inevitably arises as to whether the insurance industry isfinancially capable of surviving a similar earthquake in today'sBay Area.

A quake equal to 1906's 7.9-to-8.3 magnitude striking the SanFrancisco Bay Area today could cause over $200 billion inlosses–with as much as $60 billion of that insured, according to areport by Swiss Re.

An even higher assessment was delivered by AIR Worldwide Corp.,a risk modeling firm based in Boston, which said a recurrence ofthe 1906 San Francisco earthquake would result in almost $80billion of insured property losses, based on total property lossesexceeding $300 billion.

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