Germany's Munich Re Group on Friday set its estimated pre-tax losses from Winter Storm Kyrill at 600 euros ($778 million)--its biggest individual loss being the container ship MSC Napoli, which went aground off the south coast of England.

Munich Re put its loss for the ship claim in "the low-to-medium two-digit million range." Separately, Swiss Re said its entire estimate of overall pre-tax losses was a much lower figure of 140 million euros ($182 million).

The country hit worst by the winter storm was Germany, Munich Re said. Although there were also high losses in other countries including the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, Switzerland, Munich Re's expected loss burden reflects its large share of the reinsurance and primary insurance market in its home market of Germany.

Munich Re said it estimates insured marketwide losses of 5-to-7 billion euros, roughly $6.5-to-$9 billion.

Munich Re said it used several methods to derive its estimate loss figure, adding that because of the extremely large number of small and midsized losses still to be evaluated, establishing a definitive loss amount will requires considerable effort and time.

For this reason, any forecasts regarding expected losses from the winter storm continue to be uncertain at this time, the reinsurer said in a statement.

Separately, Swiss Re announced its $182 million estimate of Kyrill pre-tax claims, net of the benefits of its successful hedging strategy, while putting the industry cost at 3.5 billion euros, or more than $4.5 billion.

Swiss Re credited its low share of industry losses to its strict underwriting selection and successful hedging strategy.

Special Reports /

Kyrill Losses Near $800M For Munich Re

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