Articles by Katherine Chiglinsky

Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Underwriting Gains in 3Q

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s insurers dodged the worst of losses caused by Hurricane Florence as the businesses kept up their rebound from a rough 2017. The company’s operating profit doubled last quarter, capitalizing on trends ranging from more train traffic on …

Reinsurers Including AIG’s Validus Await Hurricane Michael Claims

American International Group Inc.’s Brian Duperreault spent his first year as chief executive officer on a rebuilding effort, and his biggest acquisition is the one that can magnify the insurance giant’s exposure to losses from catastrophes like Hurricane Michael. AIG …

Insurers Forecasting Significant Claims from Businesses from Hurricane Florence

Days before Hurricane Florence is expected to slam into the U.S. East Coast, insurers are starting to see potential claims costs tick upward as people flee and companies halt operations. Evacuations, already affecting more than 1 million people in and …

What Will Buffett Do with Berkshire’s $111 Billion Cash Pile?

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. gave him more leeway to make stock buybacks last month. Now, after the company said its cash pile has swelled to $111 billion, some investors are wondering when they might reap the benefits. Berkshire’s second-quarter …

Berkshire’s Q2 Insurance Profit Rises to $943M Compared to Loss of $22M in Q2 2017

This year’s looking brighter for Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s insurance businesses after 2017’s hurricanes led to the first annual underwriting loss in more than a decade. Auto insurer Geico and the company’s namesake reinsurance business helped lift underwriting to a profit …

Interest in Crypto Insurance Grows, Despite High Premiums, Broad Exclusions

In the staid and buttoned-up world of insurance underwriting, few want to talk about it. You won’t find many ads promoting it or details on company websites offering it. But according to industry insiders, there’s a hot new business that …

Harvard’s Gawande Chosen to Lead Berkshire-Amazon-JPMorgan Health Initiative

Atul Gawande, a surgeon and journalist who has written extensively about the U.S. failure to grapple with rising healthcare spending, has been named to head a new health venture for Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. …

No Reason for Insurer Panic Over Amazon… Yet

As the largest U.S. insurers gathered at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square to discuss the prospects for their industry, a threat to that future emerged from the nation’s other coast. Amazon.com Inc., the e-commerce behemoth, is reportedly considering …

After Tax Cuts, Insurers Shy Away from Muni-Bonds

Some of the biggest U.S. insurers reduced their holdings of state and local government bonds after the corporate tax cut took effect this year, marking a retreat by a key buyer in the $3.9 trillion municipal-securities market. The disclosures, made …

Investor Icahn Opposes AmTrust Plan to Go Private

AmTrust Financial Services Inc. jumped almost 12 percent in late trading Thursday after billionaire Carl Icahn disclosed a stake in the company and said he planned to oppose its plans to go private. “I am strongly against the proposed going-private …