-Caveat Lector- From http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,551633,00.html }}}>Begin Insurance Lloyd's liability too complex to quantify Lutine Bell rings in tribute Special report: terrorism in the US Julia Finch, city editor Friday September 14, 2001 The Guardian Lloyd's of London has confirmed it faces massive claims from the World Trade Centre atrocity but says it is impossible to estimate the full extent of the financial losses because claims will be the most complex in history. The world's biggest insurance market said it had "substantial involvement" in the insurance of both the twin towers and the four hijacked planes, which belonged to American Airlines and United Airlines. But Sax Riley, Lloyd's chairman, said: "Quantifying our involvement in terms of an exact figure is meaningless at this stage". The attacks had "generated the most complex set of insurance liabilities the industry has ever seen". He was speaking as 3,000 brokers and underwriters gathered in the Lloyd's building yesterday and stood in silence in memory of the victims. The Lutine Bell was also symbolically rung. The financial services authority revealed it is monitoring the impact the losses might have on UK insurance companies but "it is too soon to say anything about the costs", said a spokesman. At the end of November the FSA will take over responsibility for regulating the entire insurance industry. Lloyd's is already policed by the FSA. Insurance companies and reinsurers worldwide are braced for what could be their most expensive bill and there are some indications although they vary widely. Ratings agency Moody's says it could reach $15bn (£10bn), makin g it the most expensive man-made disaster in history. But others believe the final cost, likely to take years to finalise, could dwarf that figure. Dean O'Hare, chairman of US insurer Chubb Corp, said: "I don't think that $25bn to $30bn would be out of the question". Chubb has estimated it will have to pay out $50m just to cover property damage at the World Trade Cen tre. The company said it would face further payouts on other types of business insurance. Warren Buffett, the legendary American investor and chairman of investment group Berkshire Hathaway, said his organisation might have to pick up 5% of the eventual bill. Berkshire owns General Re, one of America's biggest reinsurance groups, which provide cover for insurance companies. The payouts will not be limited to property and aviation policies but life insurance and loss-of-business claims. In many cases, life insurance payouts will run into millions as many victims were top-financial sector work ers. The employers will also make substantial claims on "key worker" policies which are designed to make up for profits lost as a result of the death of a top employee. There could also be a flood of lawsuits if the relatives of passengers on the hijacked planes sue airlines or airports, claiming the disasters were the consequence of poor security. Since 1997 families have been able to seek unlimited compensation from airlines based on victims' potential earnings. Several insurance and reinsurance companies have already acknowledged they face payouts running into hundreds of millions of dollars. They include: Munich Re $900m; Swiss Re $730m; Allianz $630m; Zurich Financial $400m. Yesterday the UK's CGNU said it's initial estimate was £35m, while Brit insurance, a listed Lloyd's underwriter, said it was exposed to losses that "fall within its projected loss scenarios for... a major US earthquake". 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