THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996                TAG: 9607160258
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BLOOMBERG BUSINESS NEWS 
DATELINE: NEW YORK                          LENGTH:   28 lines

INSURANCE LOSSES FROM HURRICANE ARE PUT AT $194 MILLION

Hurricane Bertha wreaked $194 million in losses to insured property along the East Coast, according to an insurance industry estimate.

The storm struck land at Wrightsville Beach, near Wilmington, N.C., on Friday. Its highest gusts were recorded at 115 miles per hour, according to the Insurance Information Institute, a New York-based industry trade group.

The preliminary estimate, based on a computer program used by Applied Insurance Research Inc. of Boston, does not include Puerto Rico or the Bahamas.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., the largest U.S. home and auto insurer, said it expects $18 million in claims from about 12,000 customers with hurricane damage.

The industry's $194 million in estimated damage costs from Bertha pales in comparison to the $2 billion in damage last fall from Hurricane Opal, which was the costliest storm of 1995.

The costliest U.S. hurricane was Hurricane Andrew, which struck Florida and Louisiana in August 1992 and caused $16.5 billion in damage and legal costs.

KEYWORDS: HURRICANE BERTHA DAMAGE by CNB