July 19 (Reuters) - Insurers could face a raft of

business interruption claims after a worldwide tech outage

crippled industries from travel to finance on Friday, insurance

industry experts said.

A software update by global cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike ( CRWD )

appeared to have triggered systems problems that

grounded flights, forced some broadcasters off air and left

customers without access to services such as healthcare or

banking.

"Insurers are bracing for hundreds, if not thousands, of

claim notifications from organizations that are impacted by the

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) event," said Ryan Griffin, a partner focused on

cyber at insurance broker McGill and Partners.

However, not all businesses would get insurance cover for

their lost time and money.

A typical business interruption policy within a regular

commercial insurance program would not provide coverage against

losses stemming from Friday's outage, said Marcos Alvarez, head

of insurance at ratings agency DBRS Morningstar.

And not every cyber insurance policy likely has coverage for

business interruption; such coverage would have to be bought

separately at extra cost.

"Some cyber insurance policies exclude non-malicious events,

and there are waiting periods and deductibles that businesses

will have to consider before making a claim with their insurance

carriers," said Nir Perry, CEO at CyberWrite, a cyber insurance

risk platform.

Perry said economic damages could reach tens of billions of

dollars in such events, and added the outage should be

considered an example of an "event that can produce what could

be defined as an insurance catastrophe."

The event could also bring with it legal claims for

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ). A defective update by

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ), designed to protect Microsoft Windows systems,

triggered the global IT outage.

CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) and Microsoft ( MSFT ) did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

"Airlines (and other industries) might have rights under

their contracts that allow them financial or other remuneration

based on the CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) outage," said Sam Levine, senior vice

president - professional and cyber solutions at specialty

insurance broker CAC.

The outage caused major issues for travelers around the

world - grounding planes for hours.

Travel insurer InsureMyTrip said it anticipates an increase

in travel insurance claims, with the most from travel delay and

missed connection policies. More than 1,600 customers may be

impacted as they depart for or return from trips on Friday, it

said.

Industry experts also said that force majeure would not

apply for the event.

Force majeure clauses in contracts remove liability for

unforeseeable and unavoidable catastrophes that prevent

participants from fulfilling obligations.

"This is exactly what cyber insurance is meant to cover. ...

This is not something that is outside of our control," said

Meredith Schnur, U.S. and Canada cyber practice leader at broker

Marsh.