British insurers face 100 mln stg flood hit

The British insurance industry faces a hit of up to 100 million pounds ($165.4 million) from last week's floods in northern England, the Association of British Insurers said on Monday.

The total insured loss will be in the range of 50 to 100 million pounds, based on the current tally of about 1,000 claims, an ABI spokesman said, adding that the damage estimate could be revised in the days ahead.

The latest loss estimate falls far short of the 3 billion pound bill picked up by the insurance industry following severe flooding in the summer of 2007.

Hundreds of people were rescued by emergency services in Cumbria, northern England, on Friday after heavy rain triggered what Britain's Environment Agency described as a "1 in 1,000year" flood.

British insurance shares were mostly higher by 1055 GMT,with Aviva, RSA, and Royal Bank of Scotland, owner of insurer Direct Line, up by between 1.3 percentand 2.7 percent. ($1=.6047 Pound).