Editor's Note: Since this article was published, EQECAT issued updated loss projections on May 30, 2012.

Catastrophe modeler EQECAT says the earthquake in Northern Italy on May 20 will cause about $127 million in insured losses.

According to the company’s preliminary report, losses from the magnitude 6.0 quake in the Emilia-Romagna region will primarily come from older, unreinforced brick structures in local, mostly rural towns of Finale Emilia, San Felice Sul Panaro, and Camposanto.

The estimate is derived from a rough comparison of this earthquake to a magnitude 6.3 quake in L’Aquila in 2009 that caused more than $250 million in insured losses, says EQECAT. That quake was in a more populated area in central Italy.

EQECAT says estimated losses are subject to revision as more information becomes available. Though residential buildings have, for the most part, withstood the primary earthquake, structures may have weakened and can become more susceptible to damage from aftershocks.

Mehrdad Mahdyiar, senior director of earthquake research for catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide, has said insured losses “will not be significant given the low residential take-up rates and the relatively rural nature of the epicentral region.”

According to earlier reports, damage to commercial properties will likely drive insured losses. Several warehouses and factories were damaged. Historical buildings, such as a 14th century clock tower and several churches, were also destroyed.

Photo: The damaged bell tower of Finale Emilia city hall building, Italy, Sunday, May 20, 2012. A quake struck at 4:04 a.m. Sunday between Modena and Mantova, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) north-northwest of Bologna at a relatively shallow depth of 5 kilometers (3.2 miles). (AP Photo/Marco Vasini)

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EQECAT: Italy Quake to Cause $127M in Insured Losses

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