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Hurricane Milton loss could be $60 bln, similar to

Hurricane Ian

in 2022- RBC

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Milton due to hit Florida's Gulf Coast late

Wednesday/early

Thursday

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Rreinsurance rates could rise, boosting shares

LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Hurricane Milton could result

in a $60 billion loss for the global insurance industry,

creating a surge in 2025 reinsurance prices which could boost

some insurance companies' shares, analysts at RBC Capital said.

The Category 5 hurricane is due to make landfall on the Gulf

Coast of Florida late on Wednesday or early Thursday, and is

potentially one of the most destructive ever to hit the region,

which is still recovering from devastation caused by Hurricane

Helene less than two weeks ago.

More than one million people in coastal areas are under

evacuation orders.

A $60 billion loss would be similar to losses from Hurricane

Ian, which hit Florida in 2022, the RBC analysts said on

Wednesday, adding that this estimate for Milton should be "very

manageable" for the insurance sector.

"Market seems to be pricing in a similar impact from

Hurricane Ian of a $60bn industry loss in 2022," RBC analysts

said.

Ian was the second largest insured loss from a hurricane,

following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, according to the Swiss Re

Institute, which provides research on insurance.

Insurers and reinsurers - who insure the insurers - have

responded to rising losses from natural catastrophes in the past

few years by raising rates and excluding higher-risk business.

"Better reinsurance contract terms, broader earnings

diversification and bigger reserve buffers should put the sector

in better stead than before," the RBC analysts said in a note.

Barclays analysts this week estimated insured losses from

the hurricane could exceed $50 billion.

Shares in global reinsurers Swiss Re and Munich Re

and in Lloyd's of London players Beazley

, Hiscox ( HCXLF ) and Lancashire have fallen this

week. Swiss Re, Munich Re and Beazley have been trading at

record highs on the back of strong profits.

"It's only a matter of time before shares regain lost ground

as prospects of harder pricing at the subsequent (policy)

renewals set in," RBC added.

Reinsurers fix prices for many insurance contracts on Jan 1.

Analysts at Peel Hunt said on Wednesday that a major

hurricane making landfall across Tampa Bay and travelling west

across the Florida Peninsula would be similar to a realistic

disaster scenario set out by Lloyd's earlier this year, which

projected a $134 billion loss for the insurance sector.

Lloyd's maintains a set of mandatory Realistic Disaster

Scenarios to stress test both individual syndicates and the

market as a whole. The event scenarios are regularly reviewed to

ensure they represent material catastrophe risks.