PartnerRe estimates its 2011 New Zealand earthquake losses to be between $180 million and $240 million

PartnerRe Ltd. (NYSE, Euronext:PRE) estimated its losses following the February 2011 earthquake near Christchurch, New Zealand to be in the range of between $180 million and $240 million. The Magnitude-6.3 earthquake resulted in at least 165 deaths and caused billions of dollars of insured damage to both commercial and residential property.PartnerRe said its estimated exposure in the region is consistent with a modeled total insured loss estimate of between $7.4 billion and $11.1billion. “The estimate is preliminary, as there is currently only limited information from sources on the ground regarding the extent of structural damage,” PartnerRe announced.PartnerRe expects its loss to be contained primarily within the catastrophe sub-segment.