LONDON (Bloomberg) ? Insurance premium rates for oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico may quadruple following losses caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Lloyd?s of London insurer Atrium Underwriting Plc said.

?We are seeing a dramatic change in energy rates, probably across the board, though particularly for the Gulf,? Atrium Chief Executive Officer Nick Marsh said yesterday.

?The energy market has been hit quite badly.?

Energy-related claims from Rita may surpass those of Katrina, Marsh said. Storm modeler Eqecat last week said energy related losses from Katrina may reach $8 billion. Oil refineries near the Louisiana-Texas border may be shut for a month because of damage from Rita, while rigs were shut down in anticipation of the storm.

?Rita is the third big loss for the market coming after Hurricane Ivan last year,? said Charles Coyne, an analyst at KBC Peel Hunt in London. ?Rates will rise by a few hundred percent.?

Marsh said Atrium will seek to insure more energy risks next year, to take advantage of higher premium rates.

Insurers are already raising rates for commercial property, energy and marine coverage in the aftermath of the storms, Martin Sullivan, the chief executive officer of American International Group Inc., said in an interview. AIG, the world?s biggest insurer, expects Katrina to cost the company about $1.1 billion.

Katrina hit the US Gulf Coast on August 29, damaging oil rigs, crippling New Orleans and leaving more than 1,000 people dead. Rita struck Texas and western Louisiana on September 24, flooding towns including Port Arthur and Lake Charles.

Munich Re, the world?s largest reinsurer, today estimated total insured damages from Katrina at about $30 billion, though the company said higher losses can?t be ruled out. The company said the hurricanes may cost it 1.33 billion euros ($1.6 billion). Reinsurers take on a portion of the risks insurers assume for clients, in exchange for premium payments.

?There are still significant uncertainties regarding coverage issues and thus also about the actual loss burdens facing the insurance industry,? Munich Re said in a statement. ?Substantially higher prices are necessary? to make up for increasing risks and losses, the company said.

Lloyd?s of London, the world?s biggest insurance market, estimates losses of ?1.4 billion ($2.5 billion) from Katrina and hasn?t provided an estimate for Rita.