Cincinnati Financial Corp. said it incurred an estimated $38 million of pre-tax catastrophe losses in the first quarter of 2006, stemming primarily from tornadoes and other severe weather that hit six Midwest states March 11-13.

Based on these preliminary estimates, the company said storm losses are expected to contribute approximately 4.9 points to the first-quarter property-casualty combined ratio.

The company said more than 1,350 claims resulted from the storms, about 75 percent of which arose from commercial policies.

The company incurred an estimated $2 million in catastrophe losses in the comparable period in 2005.

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