Berkshire Hathaway

Warren Buffett had previously bemoaned the fact that reinsurance had become a “fashionable asset class”. Now, his own business model is being blamed for creating further pressure on reinsurance prices, as new entrants look to operate with a reduced cost-of-capital.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is questioning the capital adequacy of the insurance and reinsurance companies owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, due to concerns over the financing of the acquisition of Precision Castparts Corp.

The engine of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway business stuttered and stalled in the second quarter, as the insurance and reinsurance components which have driven a good deal of the Sage of Omaha’s success, were hit by weather and catastrophe losses.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has signaled its appetite for Australian and Asian expansion with the signing of a 10 year partnership deal with Australian insurer IAG, involving an equity stake and a 20% quota share reinsurance arrangement.

Warren Buffett is none too happy that reinsurance has become what he termed a “fashionable asset class”, as the fact that investors are increasingly attracted to the space has damaged his insurance and reinsurance businesses returns.

According to reports the Bank of England has written to the U.S. Treasury to ask why the reinsurance business of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has been left off the initial list of financial institutions that are deemed systemically important, or too big to fail.

Private-owned global investment and asset management conglomerate, Fosun International Limited’s adoption of Warren Buffett’s reinsurance and investment model is proving to be a success, as the China-based organisation eyes further acquisitions.

Warren Buffett’s much-anticipated 50th anniversary letter to Berkshire Hathaway investors was published on Saturday and the ‘Sage of Omaha’ explained that insurance and reinsurance has been “the engine” that propelled the firm’s expansion.

The sage of Omaha, Warren Buffett’s, reinsurance firm Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has renewed a health reinsurance agreement with Ireland’s state health insurer VHI and extended the contract to cover four years, providing much needed certainty for VHI.

Warren Buffett, chairman of diversified investment, insurance and reinsurance firm Berkshire Hathaway, said yesterday that his firm has pulled back from U.S. catastrophe reinsurance business as the rates are no longer attractive.