The nor'easter that tore up the Eastern Seaboard this week hascreated enough insurance losses to qualify as a catastrophe,Property Claims Services said.

But determining the exact amount of damages will probably takean extended period because of flooded roadways, said Gary Kerney,assistant vice president for PCS, a unit of the Jersey City,N.J.-based Insurance Services Office Inc.

Under the PCS catastrophe definition, in order for an event toqualify for a cat designation, there must be an insured loss of $25million, and it must affect a significant number of policyholdersand insurance companies.

Mr. Kerney said the weather system that did the damage began onFriday in Texas and ended on Monday in Maine. It is the eighthPCS-rated catastrophe this year due to winter storms or othersevere weather.

At this point, "it's much too early to put a [loss] number onit," he said, noting that among the effects from the storm has beenthe loss of power for 800,000 utility customers.

He noted that while flooding of homes is not generally coveredby private insurers, vehicles with comprehensive coverage arecovered for losses.

Mr. Kerney also noted that home damage from wind-driven rain isgenerally covered by policies, and in some areas rainfall exceedednine inches.

If wind blows off shingles or is driven into a home, it wouldnormally be covered, he said.

At this point, however, "the problem is you can't drive aroundand see what the damage is. We have a whole lot of claims that arejust not visible."

He said commercial flood losses would also only be covered ifthe owners bought protection from the National Flood InsuranceProgram.