Hurricane Ike, which raked the densely populated Texas coast on Saturday, could trigger insurance claims between $8 billion and $18 billion, according to an early computer-modeled estimate of damage. Tom Larsen, a senior vice-president with EQECAT Inc, which helps insurers model catastrophe risk, told Reuters that from data he had seen so far, the cost of damage was likely to fall in the middle of that range. Larsen said windows in Houston high-rises blown out by Ike's strong winds were alone expected to result in costly claims. "That is expensive, it is a significant cost once salt water gets into the buildings," he said. Insurers also face a welter of claims from businesses and homeowners in the low-lying areas around the nation's fourth-largest city. Galveston County, a center of oil refining and shipping 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Houston, could also produce a large number of claims. The area was torn apart by the deadliest weather disaster in U.S. history in 1900 -- the National Hurricane Center estimates that storm tides were largely responsible for some 8,000 deaths. Based on the early estimate, Ike will not be anywhere near as costly for insurers as Hurricane Katrina three years ago. Katrina is the most costly storm on record, causing damage that cost more than $80 billion, about half of which was covered by insurers, according to the New York-based Insurance Information Institute, a trade group funded by insurers. The biggest property insurers in Texas, and the most exposed to claims in the heavily populated coastal region, are State Farm Group, Allstate Corp and Farmers Insurance Group. The three together account for about half of the insurance market in Texas, according to insurance ratings agency A.M. Best. Other players with smaller market shares include: American International Group Inc, Ace Ltd, Travelers Companies Inc and Chubb Corp.
