ACE Ltd. chief executive officer Evan Greenberg said Hurricane Katrina will be a ?market changing event? triggering price increases on certain liability insurance as well as property policies.

?Ultimately the effect of these events will be felt worldwide,? Greenberg said on a conference call with analysts yesterday. ?ACE will be well positioned to capitalise on this environment.?

Katrina, which battered the US Gulf Coast in August (pictured), may have been the industry?s most expensive US disaster, costing insurers an estimated $40 billion to $60 billion, according to storm modeller Risk Management Solutions Inc.

ACE has since raised $1.5 billion in a share sale to ?tap growth opportunities?, Greenberg said.

Rates on commercial property, marine and energy facilities are already rising, he said. Prices will also go up for certain types of casualty coverage that ?require capacity?, he said, without being more specific.

ACE said on Tuesday that it had a third-quarter net loss of $112 million, or 43 cents a share, because of $742 million in after-tax storm expenses. In the year earlier period, the company had a per-share loss of three cents when four hurricanes hit Florida.

?Katrina was a sobering indication that the frequency and severity of catastrophes is on the increase,? Greenberg said yesterday.

Peter Streit, an analyst at Williams Capital Group LP, predicted the storms will affect prices on policies that protect corporate directors and officers from lawsuits. Rates on that coverage and related products will stop falling and maybe even go up, he said.