Berkshire (BRK-A), (AIG), (CB), (XL),(RE), (PRU) Could Get Slammed from Japan Quake

The insurance industry has been especially hit hard and expected to have the most exposure overall to the 8.9 quake in Japan, which is the strongest in over a century.

Companies like Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK-A), Prudential (NYSE:PRU), American International Group (NYSE:AIG), Chubb Group (NYSE:CB), XL Group plc (NYSE:XL) and Everest Re Group Ltd. (NYSE:RE) are among those that could be negatively impacted over time, as far as those trading in the United States.

Claims from the disaster are expected to reach into the tens of billions.

Other secondary effects in physical Japan are for companies like Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE:TM), Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE) and Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC), which have had to close plants.

Reinsurers like RenaissanceRe (NYSE:RNR) and Axis Capital (NYSE:AXS) are still recovering from the New Zealand earthquake in February.