The Asian tsunami has had a limited effect on leading insurers

The German company, the world's second largest insurer, said the natural disaster would cost it 22m euros (�15m; $28.2m) in claims.

The relatively low amount reflected the fact that much of property destroyed was uninsured, Allianz said.

Insurers believe the disaster will cost the industry between $5bn and $10bn.

Uninsured areas

Allianz said that the cost of claims stemming from the tsunami, which was triggered by a huge earthquake below the Indian Ocean, would not have a "material" impact on its finances.

"For the global industry itself it is not material because the losses were uninsured," Bruce Bowers, chief executive of Allianz's Asian business, told Reuters.

"They are in remote areas or they were government owned infrastructure."

Coastal areas in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka bore the brunt of the tsunami, which is believed to have claimed more than 200,000 lives.

Most people living in these areas could not afford insurance, thereby limiting insurers' financial liabilities.

Zurich Financial Services said on Monday that its financial exposure to the disaster was expected to amount to 70m euros (�48m; $90m).

According to estimates from the International Underwriting Association, total insurance losses from the disaster are likely to total between $5bn and $10bn.