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The losses from the Deepwater Horizon Drilling Platformexplosion are not expected to significantly impact the insurancemarketplace or buying behaviors, a brokerage executive said.

Daniel S. Glaser, chairman and chief executive officer of Marshventured that opinion during a conference call with financialanalysts today.

At same time several attorneys ventured opinions on what sort ofoil rig disaster law suits might result and what their outcomesmight be.

Responding to a question on whether the oil rig incident isaffecting insurance buying patterns or self-insurance decisions,Mr. Glaser said, "What I think you have to bear in mind is that theinsurance marketplace is huge."

He added, "And so any individual loss, outside of a catastropheloss which involves many, many insureds--any loss to a singleinsured has a remote possibility of affecting the entiremarketplace."

While he said there may be some upward pressure or concern inthe offshore drilling rig marketplace, it will not likely extend tothe entire energy marketplace.

"In terms of size of loss," Glaser said, "we don't have precisenumbers, but in terms of insurable amount of this loss, mostprognosticators are using a number between $1 and $2 billion. Soeven if you say it is the upper end of that, or even more than thatlevel, it would not be enough, in itself, to impact buyingbehaviors or the overall insurance marketplace."

Regarding the types of lawsuits that can be expected in the wakeof the spill, attorney Keith Hall, said wrongful death/personalinjury lawsuits from workers on the rig, as well as economicdamages from outside parties affected by the spill will likelyarise.

Hall handles commercial litigation, oil and gas litigation, andtoxic tort litigation at New Orleans law firm Stone Pigman WaltherWittmann L.L.C.

He said wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits are alreadybeginning and he expects settlement or recovery on these wrongfuldeath and injury actions.

There has also been a wave of proposed class action lawsuitsfiled on behalf of commercial fishermen, arguing that the spill isadversely affecting their trade, Hall noted.

He expects, he said, to see companies in the tourism industryfile similar economic damages lawsuits as well if the spill getsclose enough to shore to affect vacation spots.

But Mark Bunim chairman and managing director at Case ClosureLLC, an alternative dispute resolution firm specializing inresolving insurance related disputes, said, "Tourism is astretch."

He said the implication for lawsuits against BP and otherpotential defendants is not necessarily there. "You can go to NewOrleans, stay in a hotel, and go to a restaurant and not beaffected by this," he said.

For hotels along the shore that might have physical damage totheir properties from the spill, business interruption claims mayarise, and if beaches end up closing, some litigation may occur,but he said urban tourism spots "probably won't be affected."

Speaking to those entities that do file business interruptionclaims, Richard Shore, a founding partner of Washington, D.C.-basedlaw firm Gilbert LLP, recommended policyholders do their best topresent their claim in a clear cut understandable manner to theinsurer.

Insurance companies "will be inundated with claims," he said,and they will process clear, concise claims faster than ones thatare not presented well.

For the commercial fishermen, Bunim said they may look to FEMAfor quick dollars to help them survive, as they are essentially outof business and don't have much financing to survive.

If federal dollars are used in this case, the government willlikely go after BP and other potential defendants to recover thatmoney.

The U.S. government will also go after insurers of BP for thecost of cleanup, Bunim said. "The odds are it will get settled," hesaid. "These cases always get settled."

As for BP's options, Hall said that the company announcing thatit is going to pay for all cleanup costs was "probably smart," asit shows BP as "trying to be a good corporate citizen."

He said as investigations proceed to find out what happened, BPmay try to demonstrate that fault lies with Transocean, owner ofthe Deepwater Horizon rig, or Cameron International, which providedgear designed to prevent a blowout.

Bunim said there will be finger pointing among the defendants tosort out who will ultimately pay for what. This will likely occurthrough mediation and settlements, he said, as the parties willagree on percentages of risk. Allocating the risks, Mr. Bunim said,will likely be driven by the insurance companies.

Meanwhile in Florida the state's Chief Financial Officer AlexSink issued a statement urging Florida residents with homes andbusinesses along the coast "to get their financial statements inorder and take 'before photos' in case they have a claim againstBP."

She included a list of phone numbers where residents could betmore information.