Insured losses from UK's Storm Bert could hit $440 million, PwC says

LONDON (Reuters) - Insured losses from Storm Bert in Britain will reach between 250 million and 350 million pounds ($442 million), largely linked to claims from the flooding of residential homes, PwC estimated on Wednesday.

PwC's estimate is bigger than that of Morningstar DBRS, which said earlier on Wednesday that insured losses should come in below 150 to 200 million pounds ($252 million), based on losses from past similar events.

Storm Bert battered the country over the weekend, causing widespread flooding and killing four people.

"The losses will principally arise from home insurance claims due to damage from flooding and high winds, while businesses additionally face losses from being unable to trade and damages to stock and other property," Mohammad Khan, head of general insurance, PwC UK, said in emailed comments.

"Storm Conall may exacerbate the damage caused by Storm Bert as well as cause flooding in new areas in the UK," Khan added, referring to another major storm that followed Bert.

($1 = 0.7920 pounds)

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Editing by Iain Withers and Bernadette Baum)