Reconstructing the shattered island nation of Haiti will cost billions of dollars, and only a fraction of those funds will come from insurance payouts.

Risk modeller Eqecat has upped its loss forecast from last month’s earthquake to “low single digit billions of dollars”. But poor insurance penetration means Haiti will rely on international support to rebuild.

It says insured losses from the 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which flattened the capital city of Port au Prince on January 12, will be in the vicinity of “hundreds of millions” of dollars.

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility has been triggered, and Swiss Re is expected to pay the Haitian Government $US8 million ($8.8 million) from an annual premium of $US385,000 ($393,000). Munich Re is also understood to have some exposure in Haiti, but is not expecting a payout to the facility.

Despite the absence of insured losses, many insurers are making donations towards disaster relief. Chubb will donate $US500,000 ($555,000), while Aon is providing $US400,000 ($444,000) of which $300,000 ($333,000) is from staff contributions.

London-based Axco Insurance Information Services calculates Haitian non-life premiums at less than $US20 million ($22.6 million), with insurance penetration of 0.3% of GDP.

The Haitian Government has estimated the death toll from the disaster could reach 200,000. About 80% of Haitians live below the poverty line.