The total cost to insurers of the destruction of the World Trade Center could run to £10b ($15bn), according to the chief executive of France's largest reinsurer.
Jacques Blondeau reported that the SCOR group was facing estimated losses of up to £136m ($200m) before tax and any possible recoveries.
SCOR had offices in the World Trade Center but M Blondeau believed all 120 staff of SCOR's American subsidiary were safely evacuated to safety although about 10 workers were yet to be contacted.
The staff had been working on the 23rd and 24th floors of the south tower, beneath the point of impact of a hijacked jet and in the second tower to be struck.
Speaking in a telephone conference today (Wed 12) said: “We think that by and large they are all safe.”
Giving his assessment of the cost of the devastation in a telephone conference today, he said the total market cost of the damage in New York was estimated at $10bn to $15bn (£6.8bn to £10bn).
This figure covered the immediate effects of the destruction of the World Trade Center and included life insurance, business interruption and reinsurance but excluded possible knock-on effects such as claims from airports for interruption to their business.
The calculations for the cost of life insurance were based on an early assumption of 5,000 fatalities. Most of the total cost would come from property and casualty cover, he said.
M Blondeau described the cost to SCOR as “fairl
