Martin Bertogg, head of catastrophic perils at Swiss Re, said that the industry had been challenged by what is known as “secondary perils.” That is, while the insurance industry has historically done a good job of modeling relatively rare but potentially devastating events such as earthquakes and hurricanes, it’s battling to keep up with risks posed by snow storms, hail, tornadoes and wildfires. Those used to cause relatively minor damage but are increasingly morphing into something more costly. And that is a problem for companies, since many Americans have coverage for such events.

The natural disaster is likely to cost insurers around $250 million, according to catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Co. (KCC).

While the insured losses from this event are estimated at $250 million, the KCC Caribbean Earthquake Reference Model shows that insurable losses are around $1.7 billion (which indicates an insurance protection gap of approximately $1.45 billion), said the firm

In addition to the dead and wounded, initial reports indicate more than 700 collapsed buildings, including hospitals and schools, more than 13,000 homes destroyed, and significant damage to roads.

The epicenter of the quake was about 125 kilometers (78 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince, the US Geological Survey said, and widespread damage was reported in the hemisphere’s poorest nations as a tropical storm also bore down.

Haiti’s civil protection agency said on Twitter that the death toll stood at 304, most in the country’s south. Rescue workers and bystanders were able to pull many people to safety from the rubble. The agency said injured people were still being delivered to hospitals