LONDON (AP) — Insurance companies are looking at billions in losses from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, with one early estimate placing the figure as high as $35 billion.
German reinsurer Munich Re said Monday, however, that private insurers do not face a significant bill from damage to Japan's nuclear power plants.
AIR Worldwide, a Boston-based specialist in catastrophe modeling, said over the weekend that insured property losses could range between $15 billion to $35 billion.
AIR added that its earthquake model for Japan doesn't include the effects of a tsunami. Friday's earthquake triggered a huge tidal wave which wiped out homes and businesses, with 2,800 deaths confirmed Monday.
The Lloyd's of London insurance market said it was too early to estimate its losses.
For more images of the destruction caused in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake and tsunami, click on the Next button.
Debris covers part of a fishing port on Izushima island in Onagawacho, northern Japan, Monday, March 14, 2011, three days after a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit the country's east coast. (AP Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun, Atsushi Taketazu)
Cars are seen perched on a devastated buildings in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan, Sunday, March 13, 2011, two days after a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit the country's east coast. (AP Photo/The Yumiuri Shimbun)
A Japanese rescue team member walks through the completely leveled village of Saito in northeastern Japan Monday, March 14, 2011. Rescue workers used chain saws and hand picks Monday to dig out bodies in Japan's devastated coastal towns, as Asia's richest nation faced a mounting humanitarian, nuclear and economic crisis in the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami that likely killed thousands. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
A firefighter examines the damage of a house in Saito, Miyagi Prefecture, Monday, March 14, 2011 after Japan's biggest recorded earthquake slammed into its eastern coast Friday. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
A car sits amongst the rubble of destroyed homes in the seaside town of Toyoma, northern Japan, as residents began clearing debris from their homes Monday, March 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
City Center sits devastated by a strong earthquake and tsunami in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, Monday, March 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
A man watches a coastal area from a building where he took shelter in Tamura, Iwate, northern Japan as tsunami warning was issued Monday, March 14, 2011 following Friday's massive earthquake and the ensuing tsunami. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)
A resident of the seaside town of Toyoma, northern Japan, clears debris from the remains of the resident's home Monday, March 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
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