Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. last night said it expects to sustain losses from Hurricane Katrina between $375 million and $450 million.

Endurance, a Bermuda insurance and reinsurance company, said its preliminary estimate took into account reinsurance, premiums for policies due to be reinstated, and tax benefits. The gross loss was estimated between $400 million and $500 million.

Endurance said the figure was based on industry-wide losses coming in in the $40 billion to $50 billion range.

If the total insurance bill goes higher (estimates range as high as $60 billion), Endurance said it would expect to pay out about one percent of the grow industry loss.

Insurers and reinsurers in the property-catastrophe arena, as many Bermuda companies are, count on having to pay out when catastrophe strikes.

So far, preliminary estimates released in the last fortnight by ten Bermuda insurance and reinsurance companies adds up to a combined pay out for Katrina-related claims in the $3 billion range, at a minimum.

Mr. LeStrange said Endurance?s loss estimate was equal to about one years? earnings.

?When we founded Endurance, we recognised and anticipated the volatility of catastrophic losses in our business strategy, and built the company to withstand these types of events,? he said.

About half of the company?s loss is anticipated from property-catastrophe policies covering wind damage and energy-related losses, with several oil rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico being battered or destroyed in the category four storm that hit on August 29.

The balance of claims Endurance will arise from policyholders suffering flood damage or having business interruption claims, the company said in its statement.

New Orleans and surrounding areas were devastated by flooding after Katrina?s strong winds broke the city?s levee system. Most insurance policies exclude flood damage unless wind driven.

Endurance said its preliminary estimate could change because claims data was still limited, and potential legal and regulatory developments could also have an affect.

Katrina devastated parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama leaving scores homeless, an untold number dead and up to 500,000 out of work.

Kenneth J. LeStrange, Endurance?s Chairman and CEO, commented: ?Katrina will be remembered as one of the most tragic catastrophic events to occur in the United States during the past 100 years.?

Endurance was founded after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on Washington and New York.

The tragedy resulted in some $34 billion in insurance and reinsurance claims, according to estimates. Because so much capital was sapped from the sector, a capacity crunch resulted.

This could have wreaked havoc on insurers and reinsurers because a drop in capital greatly limits how many policies can be sold, under regulatory rules.

Endurance and a wave of other Bermuda start-ups backed by new capital averted the potential insurance crisis.