NU Online News Service, March 18, 1:19 p.m. EDT

XL Capital Ltd said it expects insured market industry wide losses for the recent Chilean earthquake will be between $6 billion and $8 billion, while its own losses could reach $205 million.

Industry losses for European Windstorm Xynthia are expected to be between $1.5 billion and $3 billion, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based global insurer and reinsurer added.

For Windstorm Xynthia, XL said it expects its losses to range from approximately $20 million to $25 million, with the losses borne almost exclusively by the reinsurance segment.

XL said its losses for the earthquake are expected to range from $140 million to $205 million, with $75 million to $85 million attributable to the company's insurance segment and $65 million to $120 million attributable to the reinsurance segment.

XL said the Xynthia estimates are based on the company's review of individual treaties and policies expected to be impacted as well as client data received to date.

Mike McGavick, XL chief executive officer, said, "Our thoughts are with all of those impacted by these recent catastrophic events. Based on our early reviews of losses on an industry and regional basis, we believe our estimated loss exposures demonstrate the effectiveness of the underwriting processes and risk management culture we have built at XL.

"In particular, we have prudently managed our net retentions across both the insurance and reinsurance segments."

The company noted that its estimates are subject to revision as additional information becomes available. For its analysis, XL said it took into account current total insured market loss estimates from both published sources and its own internal analysis.

Industry loss estimates for the Chile earthquake have ranged from $4 billion to as high as $10 billion.