The Insurance Information Institute's chief economist has denied claims that only one of the World Trade Centre's twin towers was insured.
Speaking from Washington, Dr Robert Harwick said the insurance covered the whole of the complex, although he added it was likely the buildings are significantly under-insured.
He said: “Insurers would probably only assign less than a 1% probablity to one tower being totally destroyed, so the chances of it happening to two are very remote.
“I expect the value of the insurance costs to be somewhat below what it would cost to rebuild, as insurance costs represent a reasonable probability, not a worst-case scenario.”
Hartwick said a complex network of insurers, reinsurers and retrocessionaires would carry the cost.
He said Munich Re, Swiss Re, Allianz, Chubb, AIG and Ace Bermuda had already confirmed they insured some of the building, but added which companies insured which percentages had not yet been confirmed.
But a market source said the New York Port Authority would have to pay a $2-3bn excess on the $5bn buildings.
The source added that ACE's share of the claim would be less than 10%.
