Giant Canadian marine insurance and shipping player Fairfax Financial Holdings is expecting a huge loss in the first three months as coronavirus took its toll on investments.

The Toronto-listed fund is estimating a net deficit of $1.4bn — a 12% decrease in book value.

"These are unprecedented turbulent times and we wanted to provide our shareholders with preliminary indications of some key developments for Fairfax’s first quarter," said founder and chief executive Prem Watsa.