Catlin Group Ltd yesterday increased its loss estimate from September's New Zealand earthquake by $10 million to $45 million.The global property and casualty re/insurer said it made the announcement “in view of the increased interest in this event by the investment community”.Catlin based its estimates on total insured losses from the New Zealand earthquake of $5.5 billion to $6 billion.Catlin becomes the third Bermuda company to raise its loss estimate from the incident, which caused widespread damage on the South Island, particularly around the city of Christchurch.Last week, reinsurer PartnerRe raised its loss estimate from the event to between $140 million and $160 million, from a previous expectation of $64 million.Aspen Insurance Holdings followed by increasing its pre-tax loss estimate to $53 million from $20 million.“Catlin's estimate is based on information obtained to date from brokers and clients, a comprehensive review of direct insurance and reinsurance contracts, and information derived from catastrophe modelling analysis,” the company said in a statement yesterday.“The vast majority of the loss arises from property treaty reinsurance contracts written by the Group's London/UK and Bermuda underwriting hubs.”