Royal Bank of Canadat expects to take a charge in the fourth quarter ending Oct. 31, 2005, of US$130 million after tax for expected claims relating to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in the southern United States.

The announcement was made after markets closed on Thursday.

As part of the reinsurance business of its Global Insurance operations, RBC provides property reinsurance and retrocession capacity that pays claims on large natural catastrophic events.

The amount of the charge has been estimated after a review of all reinsurance contracts in force and industry assessments of exposures and preliminary indication from clients and brokers.

In a statement, the bank said it, “does not expect any significant level of claims to arise from its life insurance operations and said the financial impact of this charge is within its risk tolerance.”

RBC will release its fourth quarter and year-end results on December 9.