Chubb Corp. expects its hit from superstorm Sandy to reach $570 million after taxes, including reinsurance.The insurer said its after-tax losses are likely to be around $2.14 a share, reflecting a loss of around $880 million before taxes.
Chubb also said that it has resumed its share repurchase program, which it suspended in the aftermath of the storm. But the company doesn't expect to complete the total $1.2 billion in buybacks authorized by the end of January 2013, as it initially expected.
Chubb, which sells business insurance and coverage for high-end homes, has an outsized exposure in the Northeast. Fitch Ratings in November listed the company as being among insurers with the largest potential insured losses from Sandy.
Predictions of the insurance industry's losses suggest that the final industry-wide tally from the massive storm could exceed $20 billion, but most major insurers are expected to pull through without absorbing permanent damage.
Earlier Tuesday, Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG) estimated its pre-tax losses from Sandy at around $350 million.
Fellow insurer Travelers Cos. Inc. recently said it likely took a $650 million hit from Sandy, while Allstate Corp. said it expected its losses from the storm to reach nearly $1.08 billion. American International Group Inc. (AIG) has said it expects losses from the storm to reach about $1.3 billion, after tax.