INSURANCE

Quake Insurance Loss Estimate Released: As expected, the insurance industry formally released its estimate that insurance claims from the Northridge earthquake will total $2.5 billion. The Property Claim Services division of the American Insurance Services Group said the Jan. 17 quake will result in about 230,000 claims for residential and commercial damage. The estimate does not include the far greater cost of destruction to uninsured property, including publicly owned infrastructure. Total damage from the earthquake has been estimated at as much as $30 billion.