Travelers estimates gross loss of $1.14 billion from Sandy Wed Dec 5, 2012 9:16am EST (Reuters) - Travelers Cos Inc (TRV.N) said its preliminary estimate of net losses from superstorm Sandy was about $650 million after tax. It estimates a gross loss of $1.135 billion excluding expected recoveries from reinsurance, the company said in a statement. The company also said it intends to resume share buybacks that it had temporarily suspended to assess its exposure to the storm. Sandy is likely to be the second-costliest disaster in U.S. history, behind only Hurricane Katrina. Industry experts estimate insured losses of as much as $25 billion, excluding claims paid by the federal flood insurance program. Allstate Corp (ALL.N) said last week that it expects to report October disaster losses of $1.08 billion, mostly due to superstorm Sandy. Reporting by Aman Shah in Bangalore; Editing by Roshni Menon