Insurers estimate Gustav claims as high as $10B

By MARK WILLIAMS and IEVA M. AUGSTUMS –

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — Residential and commercial damages from Hurricane Gustav will trigger an estimated $4 billion to $10 billion in insurance claims, a third of which could affect the energy industry.

While Gustav's force paled in comparison to Hurricane Katrina, which cost insurers $41 billion, oil workers, utility crews, fishermen and other business owners fanned out across the Gulf Coast Tuesday to assess the damage. Retailers began restocking their shelves in anticipation of the cleanup effort, and power crews worked to restore electricity to more than 1 million customers across the region.

"We will be addressing our hardest-hit policyholders first," said Elizabeth Stelzer, spokeswoman for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. "Those homes with a tree through a wall, an exposed roof, or other claims in which the home has become uninhabitable are the priority."

Power outages from Hurricane Gustav continued to grow Tuesday with utility giant Entergy Corp. now saying it has the second largest number of outages in the company's 95-year history, trailing only the devastation wrought by Katrina three years ago. The loss of power brought down cellular and Internet service in parts of Louisiana.

Residential and land-based commercial losses were expected to total between $3 billion to $7 billion and oil-drilling damage at about $1 billion to $3 billion, Newark, Calif.-based Risk Management Solutions Inc. estimated. Catastrophe risk-modeling firm AIR Worldwide Corp., based in Boston, placed preliminary losses on land ranging between $2 billion and $4.5 billion.

"It's still really early and we're definitely evaluating the damage that happened," said Matt Bordonaro, spokesman for The Travelers Group. "We are seeing more of a wind event, than a flood event."

Insurance industry analysts warned that computerized data on insurance losses may understate actual costs because the figure don't include damage to uninsured property or destruction caused by actions excluded from some policies, such as flooding. Total losses won't be known for months.

Katrina, which struck three years ago last month, was the single largest natural disaster loss in the history of the insurance industry. Insurers paid $41 billion arising from 1.7 million claims for damage to homes, businesses and vehicles to policy holders in six states. Hurricane Andrew — the previous record holder — produced $15.5 billion in losses in 1992 and 790,000 claims.

Preliminary indications were that Gustav caused little damage to the region's abundance of onshore and offshore oil facilities, though the full impact of wind and wave damage to platforms and pipelines likely won't be known for a couple of days.

The price of oil tumbled nearly $7 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, suggesting traders were confident that the energy complex suffered only a glancing blow.

Port of New Orleans spokesman Chris Bonura said damage appeared to be light, and that the Mississippi River was already open to some traffic Tuesday morning.

"Our transmission system has had massive damage," Entergy spokesman Mike Burns said, noting damage to 191 transmission lines and 210 substations that affected 825,000 customers, mostly in Louisiana.

Eastbound traffic on Interstate 10 toward Louisiana picked up considerably as people who had evacuated started to make their way home, and retailers began to reopen stores.

Home improvement chain The Home Depot Inc. said more than half of the 31 stores closed because of Gustav will reopen Tuesday and Conn's Inc., which operates a chain of appliance stores in Texas and Louisiana, also began reopening stores Tuesday.

Lowe's Cos. Inc. and Home Depot said hundreds of trucks carrying generators, chain saws, bleach, brooms, tarps and roofing supplies were moving into the region.

In Mississippi, regulators say the 11 casinos along the Gulf Coast will remain closed until crews finish cleaning up from the storm and an adequate number of employees return to work. Larry Gregory, executive director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, said Tuesday that none of the casinos suffered any structural damage from Gustav.

Associated Press Writers John Porretto in Houston, Ashley Heher in Chicago, Peter Svensson in New York and Kevin McGill in New Orleans contributed to this report. Ieva M. Augstums reported from Charlotte, N.C.

'My human rights have been breached': Glitter flies back to Britain and claims HE is a victim

Gary Glitter finally arrived in Britain yesterday – claiming he was the victim of a ‘show trial’ and that his human rights were breached.

The shamed pop star paedophile was given VIP treatment at Heathrow and smirked as he was fast-tracked through the airport with a six-strong police escort.

He avoided the cameras and even ducked out of a court appearance, sending a lawyer in his place to argue he should not have to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register.

Glitter, 64, convicted of molesting two Vietnamese girls aged ten and 11, brazenly insisted he was innocent and called his 2006 trial in Vietnam a ‘travesty of justice’.


He trotted out a series of pleas for sympathy, including claiming he might have contracted tuberculosis while in prison in the Far East.

He is demanding round-the-clock police protection because he fears he could be attacked to avenge his crimes against children.

It could cost taxpayers £50,000 a year to protect him if police decide there are credible threats against his life.


Over the next few days, Scotland Yard will carry out a risk assessment.

Despite fears that he could re-offend, Glitter had vanished within hours of arriving in the UK.


An airport insider said he had been led through a tunnel before leaving by car, while police sources said he was now ‘no longer in London’.

He has three days to provide police with a permanent address. Officers are understood to be aware of his current location.

In theory, there is nothing to stop him going abroad again.


If he went to Europe he would have free movement with his UK passport. Alternatively, he could be staying with a friend in Britain.

His lawyer David Corker said: ‘I have no information about whether he will travel abroad but, realistically, what country is going to accept him?


'I know where he is – but I’m not going to say.’

Glitter landed at Heathrow shortly after 7am but hid in the terminal building for hours. He dispatched Mr Corker to Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court where a hearing was scheduled to deal with a Notification Order applied for by the Metropolitan Police to help them monitor Glitter, real name Paul Gadd.

Mr Corker argued that his client should not immediately be put on the Sex Offenders’ Register because his Vietnam conviction was flawed and passed in a country with an abysmal human rights record.

He said: ‘Mr Gadd wants me to say that he didn’t commit the offences for which he was convicted.


'It was a show trial and he had no opportunity to put his defence forward.’

Mr Corker applied for a six-week postponement but District Judge David Simpson rejected the claims and ordered Glitter to sign the register within three days.

The judge said ‘Mr Gadd has sought to avoid the jurisdiction of this court’, referring to Glitter’s attempts to dodge deportation to Britain.

He now has three days in which to register with police his name, address, date of birth and National Insurance number.


He must tell them if he intends to stay at any other address for more than seven days. He can travel abroad without restriction for up to three days, but for any longer he is required to give police details.

Nonetheless, he remains free to travel anywhere in the world that will have him – making a mockery of tough talk by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith who exploited Glitter’s return to trumpet new measures to clamp down on paedophiles indulging in ‘sex tourism’.

NBAD moves into Egypt with $4 million brokerage deal

Abu Dhabi Financial Services said it has snapped up 70 per cent of Egypt-based Al Salam Brokerage. The deal is thought to have cost the UAE-based company, which is owned by National Bank of Abu Dhabi, around $4 million.


A notice posted in the ADX’s website said that move by ADFS would be the first step towards “the fulfillment of a wider scope of development” including the modernisation of the Egyptian company’s IT infrastructure, the enhancement its human resources and would help it with its plans for increased regional and international expansion.


In May Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank's Egyptian arm and Amlak Finance signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Arab Orient Insurance Company, a member of the Al Futtaim group of companies to launch a new joint venture insurance company in Egypt called Arab Orient Takaful Insurance.