a result of Hurricane Gert.

Glen Gibbons, vice president of customer relations for BF&M General Insurance Co. Ltd., said a total of 20 claims had been made as of 5 p.m. yesterday.

A total of 17 claims were for damage to property and three were for damaged boats. Most of the property claims were due to flooding and wavewash. There were no reported claims for lost roofs.

"All reported losses have been inspected and the company is working on the expedient settlement of the same,'' Mr. Gibbons said.

"The company has notified their reinsurers that the initial gross dollar value of all claims is approximately $530,000. When the reinsurance recoveries are applied to these losses, the net impact for the company will be minimal.'' Argus Insurance Co. Ltd. property and claims vice president Larry Osborne said the company's claims department had received less than ten claims by late afternoon yesterday.

Most of the damage was concentrated in the area from Devonshire east to St.

David's. Most of the claims were for contents damage and water damage to walls.

Some of the claims for water and wall damages could be "substantial'', he said, but in total the losses were not going to be major compared to that caused by previous hurricanes.

"I'm staggered at this stage at how few claims we've received,'' he said.

Colonial Insurance didn't return calls yesterday.

All three companies had stopped writing new business on Monday as the storm approached.

HURRICANES HUR