While it can be challenging to estimate exposure values in developing countries such as Haiti, risk modeler EQECAT estimates the economic damages from this event to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Due to expected better underwriting standards than general building standards, insured buildings will generally perform better than the typical building, but this earthquake is very severe, and even well-designed buildings could expect damage from this event.

EQECAT says that buildings in this region tend to be built with heavy materials like concrete andmasonry, with little or none of the lateral reinforcing needed for earthquake resistance.

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility said it is preparing to make a payout to the Government of Haiti as a result of the earthquake. Haiti has an earthquake policy with CCRIF as part of the country’s disaster risk management strategy. The recent earthquake was of sufficient magnitude to trigger the full policy limit for the earthquake coverage, effecting payment after a 14-day waiting period. Based on calculations from the preliminary earthquake location and magnitude data, Haiti will receive just under $8 million from the Facility – approximately 20 times their premium for earthquake coverage.

In another briefing, Risk Management Solutions said that the impact to the insurance industry is likely to be limited given that insurance penetration in Haiti is very low at around 0.28 percent of GDP, however approximately 90 percent or more of Haiti's insured risks are situated in Port-au-Prince.