"This will be difficult, but it will not retard what is happening in the marketplace today," said Mr. Thomas, adding that Zurich would be heavily impacted by the storm.

He pointed out that Katrina would have a negative impact on the commercial market, but the loss would still be manageable in relation to industry capacity, which he put at over $420 billion.

The most recent estimate on losses from Hurricane Katrina was put at between $40 billion and $60 billion by Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Services. The modeler also said the total economic loss from the storm was estimated to be at $120 billion.

Thomas M. Van Berkel, president and chief executive officer of The Main Street America Group, based in Jacksonville, Fla., said while the disaster would have a significant impact on the industry, no one really knows at this point what the total loss would be, but he expected it would have significant impact on the property market.

From recent visits with London insurers, discussing reinsurance treaties, he anticipates reinsurers would be impacted by this event, contributing to a push-up in property rates.

Mr. Van Berkel added that his company did not have much exposure in the most heavily impacted states--Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama--but it does have considerable exposure in Florida.

A rise in the cost of materials to rebuild after the hurricane will drive up those loss costs further, observed F.W. "Bill" Purmort, president and chairman of the board for Central Insurance Companies, based in Van Wert, Ohio. He said the company has little exposure in the worst-hit areas.

One of the primary concerns insurers need to have is to "step up to the plate" and take care of their policyholders and independent agent partners, said Marita Zuraitis, president of The Citizens and Hanover Insurance Companies, a subsidiary of Allmerica Financial Corp. based in Worcester, Mass.

She said the company has significant exposure in Louisiana and some in Mississippi and Alabama. The company has focused on handling claims and, "if we err, we will err by overpaying in a coverage dispute."

"We will do what we think is right," she said, adding, "It is going to take a while to figure this all out."

The biggest challenge, said Thomas A. Grau, president of the IIABA, is the recovery from the economic impact Katrina would have along the coast. The industry, he advised, needs to be part of that solution to help in the recovery, and it is important that it be positioned to do that.

On Sunday, a second panel of company executives addressed agents during the IIABA's opening general session.

During that session, the chief executives addressed a broader question of dealing with the growing expense of catastrophes in terms of dollars and number of people involved.

Mike McGavick, chief executive officer for Seattle-based Safeco, said the issue needs discussion at the federal level because the burden cannot be wholly dealt with by the insurance industry.

Mr. McGavick is leaving his position with Safeco to stage a run in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

Robert J. Joyce, chairman and CEO of the Westfield Center, Ohio-based Westfield Group, said one issue that will come out of Katrina is the number of uninsured people who have been dealt a severe blow by the storm.

"[Nationally], we have to do a better job of protecting people [living] along the coast," he observed.

Charles M. Kavitsky, president and CEO of Fireman's Fund based in Novato, Calif., said insurers will need to come up with imaginative solutions to help policyholders in this time of crisis.

"New Orleans will come roaring back because that is the genius of America," he said.