million for damage from freak weather in the past six weeks.

And the company said initial claims from a powerful hailstorm in Australia and a set of tornadoes in the US were deceptively low compared to current indications.

Based on the latest loss figures -- although claims information is still being gathered -- PartnerRe expects combined claims from the two events to total $50 million.

Claims resulting from the devastating hailstorm which hit Sydney, Australia in mid April are estimated to total $800 million -- making it the largest insured loss event in Australia's history.

Roughly 43,000 cars, 32,000 homes, 3,000 commercial buildings and 23 aircraft suffered severe damage in the storm. And earlier this month a series of tornadoes struck several southern US states including Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Tennessee -- killing 57 people and damaging or destroying as many as 10,000 structures along with many vehicles.

Insurers will also face bills from additional damage due to persistent strong winds accompanies by hail.

Total insured claims from these tornadoes are estimated to approximate $1.5 billion.

PartnerRe president and CEO Herbert Haag said it was normal for the company to be exposed to such massive claims from catastrophe losses as it was "one of the world's leading multi-line reinsurance companies''.

"We are optimistic that these events will reaffirm the value we bring to the insurance market and assist in our endeavours to improve the terms of trade for our business,'' he said.