Standard & Poor's today warned that losses of more than $50bn (£33.3bn) from the attack on the World Trade Center could endanger the insurance system itself.
Announcing that the cost of the terrorist action will be the most expensive ever, Steve Dreyer, managing director for the US insurance industry ratings at Standard & Poor's, said: “Once insurable losses exceed $10bn (£6.6bn) or $15bn (£10bn) we would expect to see a significant impact the on balance sheets of individual insurers.
"However, the totals would have to exceed $50bn (£33.3bn) before we would begin to worry about the insurance system.”
He said any attempt to quantify the losses could remain “purely speculative” for weeks.
