CONCEPCION, Chile—The earthquake in Chile that has claimed at least 723 lives and caused widespread damage will leave insurers with claims of as much as $8 billion, catastrophe modeling company EQECAT Inc. projects.

Insured losses from the magnitude 8.8 quake that struck off the coast of Chile on Feb. 27 are likely to amount to around 25% of the economic losses, which EQECAT says are expected to range from $15 billion to $30 billion.

EQECAT, based in Oakland, Calif., said in a Tuesday statement that insurers should expect to pay from $3 billion to $8 billion in losses.

AIR Worldwide Corp., a Boston-based catastrophe modeling company, said on Monday that it expects insured losses to exceed $2 billion.

EQECAT said the range of potential insured losses is wide because the estimate is not yet supported by information from the scene of the quake, and there remains uncertainty as to the extent of infrastructure damage. Business interruption costs will depend on the speed at which transportation and utility networks are restored, EQECAT said.

On Tuesday, London-based RSA Insurance Group P.L.C. said its losses from the quake are expected to reach about £30 million ($46.4 million) net of reinsurance. RSA writes general insurance in Chile through subsidiary Royal & Sun Alliance Seguros Chile.