Bermuda-based reinsurer PartnerRe said its exposure to Hurricane Fabian was not expected to have significant adverse affect on its results even though claims were estimated to come in around $18 million.

PartnerRe - the first Bermuda-based company to announce estimates on what exposure it could have from reinsurance of domestic insurers - said it expected millions in claims from Bermuda insurance companies but that should not have significant material impact on its bottom line.

Fabian - which hit the Island on September 5 with winds in excess of 140 mph and has been cited as the worst storm since 1926 to make a direct hit on Bermuda - left the local insurance industry with initial estimates of around $75 million in claims.

PartnerRe may be left with a bigger bill from Hurricane Fabian than other Bermuda-based reinsurers with its own admission that it is one of the leading reinsurance companies providing support to the domestic market. PartnerRe said its reinsurance of Bermuda insurers was primarily through proportional property programs and two small catastrophe treaties.

Although estimates from other reinsurers are yet to be made public, an industry source said it thought the insurance market at Lloyd's of London could also be faced with a multitude of reinsurance claims from local insurers following the devastating hurricane that left thousands of properties damaged.PartnerRe - a global reinsurance powerhouse expecting to post some $3.5 billion in business this year alone - said its office headquarters on Hamilton's waterfront sustained no damage during the powerful category three storm.

Despite the expectation that millions in claims would be filed, PartnerRe's management said it was relieved that its offices and staff were not harmed during Fabian. CEO Patrick Thiele said in a press statement: "This was a very powerful storm and a frightening experience for most people in Bermuda. It caused widespread damage to many parts of the Island, " he said.

Mr. Thiele continued: "It is a testament to the strength and resolve of the Bermuda people that most of the Island, including PartnerRe offices, was back up and running on Monday morning. It also speaks to the very solid infrastructure that Bermudians have built that total damage was less than might be expected from a storm of this magnitude." He concluded: "It caused loss of life, widespread and significant property damage, and power outages across the Island. (However) the headquarters of PartnerRe Ltd. were undamaged by the storm, and most importantly, all PartnerRe employees and their immediate families were unharmed," he said.