Insured Quake Losses Likely to Top $2 Billion : Claims: Estimates remain sketchy, but costs appear higher than in Loma Prieta quake.

Damage reports continued to pour into insurance company offices Thursday, increasing the likelihood that the Northridge earthquake will surpass the 1989 Loma Prieta quake in both numbers of claims and insured losses.

Southern California’s seven largest issuers of homeowners insurance--accounting for more than half the market--reported Thursday morning that they had fielded more than 42,000 loss reports in the three days after the quake. The figure includes commercial and auto claims.

Insurance company representatives continued to resist estimating the dollar amount of claims, but one industry analyst said $2 billion might be conservative.

Edward Spehar of Merrill Lynch noted that insured losses in the Loma Prieta earthquake came to $960 million and that total damage reached $7 billion. If a similar ratio between covered and uncovered losses holds true in the Northridge quake--no sure bet, he cautioned--then insured losses could well exceed $2 billion, since total destruction has been estimated at $15 billion to $30 billion.

Insurers have imposed a 30-day moratorium on issuing new earthquake insurance policies. The area affected by the moratorium varies by insurer. Policies will still be sold, but they will not become effective until the moratorium expires.

Many carriers saw their damage report totals double between Wednesday and Thursday as they added extra telephone lines and personnel to deal with the volume.

State Farm, the largest insurer, had no firm estimate of claims received as of Thursday, except that they exceeded 10,000. Allstate Insurance, second-largest, had received 12,086 loss reports by midday. No. 3 Farmers Insurance had more than 8,000 reports--up from 3,000 on Wednesday.

Twentieth Century Insurance had 5,000 claims, USAA 4,000, Safeco 2,300 and Fireman’s Fund 1,100--all as of Thursday morning, spokespersons said.

* TOURISM

Hotel business expected to recover by summer. D12