SWISS insurance giant and major Hampshire employer Zurich Financial Services has revealed that the Asian tsunami disaster and a string of hurricanes will cost it almost £100m in the fourth quarter.

The group, which employs 2,000 people in Southampton, Fareham and Portsmouth, said it expected claims from the Boxing Day disaster that struck countries around the Indian Ocean to reach about £34.7m.

The group, which owns the Eagle Star and Allied Dunbar brands, also increased the total of expected claims from four hurricanes that hit the US and the Caribbean last year. It has been badly hit by the continuing flow of claims coming out of Florida and the West Indian islands, which were hammered by storm damage last year.

The cost of the storms, which includes hurricanes Frances and Ivan, has risen by £64.1m to £277.8m.

"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. "These charges will not materially affect the group's financial strength."

Along with the tsunami, the hurricanes will knock £98.8m off the group's profits. Zurich said last August that half-year profits lifted 93 per cent to £775m.

Zurich is the third-largest general insurer in the UK and has the bulk of its operations in North America and Europe. It employs 62,000 people.