Berkshire May Have Underwriting Loss on Disasters, Buffett Says
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Warren Buffett said natural disasters led by the Japan earthquake in March eroded first-quarter profit at Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and may lead to the company’s first annual insurance underwriting loss in nine years.
Net income dropped to $1.51 billion from $3.63 billion a year earlier, Berkshire said yesterday in a statement. The insurance segment posted an underwriting loss of $821 million. The Japan earthquake cost the firm $1.06 billion, a temblor in Christchurch, New Zealand $412 million, and flooding and a cyclone in Australia $195 million.