The total cost of the Sept. 11 disaster could easily reach $30 billion, including insurance claims, lost airline revenue, reconstruction costs and a drop in customer spending.
That's the word from financial analysts and insurance companies.
Among the biggest losers are several industries reliant on the direct marketing channel. And those industries have begun to make estimates.
The U.S. sector of the airline travel industry is worth roughly $1 billion a day. Total losses could amount to $10 billion, according to some estimates.
Ancillary losses could also end up in the billions, as demand for hotel rooms falls from the usual levels. As a result, hotel operators began slashing room rates immediately after the attacks. (See related story.)
Among the insurers, American International Group alone could take a half-billion dollar charge from the damage done. General Electric's Employer's Reinsurance Corp. announced that it would incur $400 million in post-tax charges as a result of the attacks, and ACE Limited could suffer a similar loss.
Chubb Corp. indicated it would dispense between $100 million and $200 million, and OneBeacan Insurance Group said its losses could hit $175 million. Berkshire Hathaway would also lose a great deal, although the firm did not release figures.
In contrast, insurers' losses from the first bombing of the Trade Center in 1994 totaled over just half a billion dollars.
These losses could, however, be offset by increased premiums.
The two World Trade Centers towers were valued in some reports at $3 billion.
Meanwhile, pundits are worried about the effect of the disaster on the overall economy.
"Given weakness in the economy in August heading into the negative impact of the World Trade Center attack, the prospect of a significant recovery in the U.S. is pushed farther into the future--possibly to early next year," said Gail Fosler, senior vice president and chief economist for The Conference Board, in a statement.
