Swiss insurance group Zurich Financial Services said the Asian tsunami and a string of hurricanes would cost it £98.8m in the fourth quarter.

The group, which owns the Eagle Star and Allied Dunbar brands in the UK, said it expected claims from the Boxing Day disaster that struck countries around the Indian Ocean to reach about £34.7m after taxes.

The company also increased the total of expected claims from four hurricanes that hit the US and the Caribbean last August and September, including Frances and Ivan, from £213.7m to £277.8m after taxes, leaving it with a fourth-quarter bill for an extra £64.1m.

"These revisions arise from the difficulty of modelling the unusual sequence of storms, striking the same area more than once and causing flooding losses in addition to wind damage," Zurich Financial said.