May 2 (Reuters) - Chubb, the insurer of

Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed in March, is

preparing to make a $350 million payout to the state of

Maryland, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The payment is expected to be authorized within weeks, the

report said, citing a statement from Henry Daar, head of

property claims North America for WTW, the bridge's

broker.

The $350-million payout could be the first of many related

to the disaster that analysts have said might cost insurers up

to $4 billion, making it a record shipping insurance loss.

The tragedy that killed six people occurred after a

Singapore-flagged container ship collided with the landmark

bridge.

Chubb, along with Maryland and the families of the victims

of the crash, will likely sue the ship owner and others to

recoup losses from the crash, according to the WSJ report.

Chubb and WTW did not immediately respond to Reuters

requests for comment.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini

Ganguli)