AXIS estimates Australia, N.Z. claims up to $315M

PEMBROKE, Bermuda—AXIS Capital Holdings Ltd. said it expected net pretax claims of between $275 million and $315 million from natural disasters in Australia and New Zealand in the first quarter of 2011.

The Pembroke, Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer said Monday it was too early to give an estimate of its own or the industry’s losses from the recent devastating earthquake in Japan.

But it said it did not believe the impact on its reinsurance business would exceed 1.3% of the industry loss, while the impact on its insurance segment likely will be less than $25 million thanks to reinsurance coverage in place, it said.

AXIS said it expected claims of between $185 million and $215 million from the February earthquake in New Zealand. The company said the loss primarily would affect its reinsurance business and included a reinsurance treaty exposed to a government-backed provider of residential earthquake coverage.

AXIS said its losses from flooding and Cyclone Yasi in Australia also would primarily affect the company’s reinsurance operations and likely would be $90 million to $100 million.

AXIS said it believed industrywide losses from the New Zealand earthquake likely would be $8 billion to $12 billion, while industry losses from the events in Australia in the first quarter likely will top $6 billion, it said.