Insurers' Gulf Coast oil spill losses estimated at $1.4B

Companies with exposure to the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico are insured for losses totaling about $1.4 billion, according to initial reports. "The insurance losses from the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon will be significant and one of the largest losses ever for global offshore energy insurance and reinsurance markets," said Dr. Robert Hartwig, an economist and the president of the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).