LONDON (Reuters) ? Widespread price hikes across the reinsurance business, which had been anticipated in the wake of last year?s hurricane claims that could reach $80 billion, have not materialised, a top reinsurance broker said yesterday.

The chief executives of four of the world?s biggest reinsurers, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re and Lloyd?s of London, had forecast that price rises across virtually all kinds of reinsurance were inevitable following the costliest year for catastrophes for insurers in history.

The executives made their forecasts at a September industry meeting in Monte Carlo, where reinsurers meet their insurance clients to kick off annual contract negotiations, shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated the US Gulf Coast. The storm?s estimated insurance claims could reach $55 billion.

Hurricanes Rita and Wilma later slammed the region and could cost insurers a further $25 billion.

But reinsurers? prophesies have not come true, said Charles Cantlay, deputy chairman of the UK reinsurance unit of Aon Corp. the world?s second largest insurance broker.

?In Monte Carlo, there was a lot of bullish talk about across-the-board rate rises. Well, that simply hasn?t happened,? said Cantlay, speaking at a press conference in London.

Very large price rises have been confined to reinsurance cover for US commercial and residential property against hurricanes, protection for oil rigs and refineries, and risk cover bought by reinsurers from other reinsurers, which have all been severely hit by claims from the storms, Cantlay said.

Some investors may be disappointed by the downbeat news, having expected reinsurers to cash in.

But they were probably overly optimistic, said Bob Yates, head of European research, at Fox-Pitt, Kelton.

?There is obviously an element of poker game in pre-renewal pronouncements. You never tell clients you?d probably be happy with prices rising slightly, or even staying where they were,? said Yates, speaking at a separate press briefing in London.

?But I haven?t heard a lot of hype from the industry about what they could achieve in the renewals ... I think they?ve been pretty objective.?

The predicted widespread rate hikes did not come true because Munich Re and Swiss Re, the market leaders, chose not to impose them, Cantlay said.

That decision enabled those firms to snatch some market share back from the London and Bermuda reinsurance markets, Cantlay said.

?I would say that Munich Re and Swiss Re have had very successful (renewals) ... They chose not to jump on a bandwagon of (global) rating increases created by the US storms. That has gone down very well with clients.?

In contrast to the United States, where the cost of reinsuring against storms, floods or earthquakes may have doubled, prices for catastrophe risks in Europe remained flat or rose only by single-digit amounts, he said.