Bermuda’s reinsurers will be among those paying out estimated claims of between $960 million and $1.9 billion related to high winds that battered parts of Western Europe last week.

The range represents the preliminary estimate of catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide on the damage caused by Extratropical Cyclone Xaver, which struck on December 5.

Xaver’s winds were at Category 1 hurricane strength as the storm came ashore in Scotland. The storm then headed south and moved across the North Sea to the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany.

“Xaver brought with it a potent combination of hurricane-force gusts, torrential rains, and storm surge, which caused significant travel disruption, power outages, and property damage across parts of the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, southern Sweden, and Norway,” said Gerhard Zuba, senior principal scientist, AIR Worldwide.

Dr Zuba added: “Reported observation data for the storm include gusts up to 148kmh [92mph] and 158kmh [98mph] in areas along the Danish and German coasts. Comparisons have been made between Xaver and winter storms Christian, which struck earlier this year, and Anatol in 1999, which also caused significant losses in Denmark. The wind speeds of Xaver were generally not as intense as either of these storms, however.”

AIR expects the majority of losses to emanate from Denmark, Germany, and the UK. Losses also occurred in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and Norway.