GEICO Drives Up Berkshire 2020 Underwriting Profit
With GEICO’s 2020 underwriting profit more than doubling above the level recorded in 2019, Berkshire Hathaway’s full-year property/casualty underwriting income was in the black, even though the conglomerate’s P/C reinsurance units saw underwriting losses in both years.
Taken together, $3.4 billion of pre-tax underwriting profit for personal lines auto insurer GEICO, combined with $110 million for Berkshire’s commercial primary insurance operations, more than offset $2.0 billion in pre-tax underwriting losses in Berkshire’s reinsurance group, Berkshire reported on Saturday. Total underwriting profit for the P/C insurance and reinsurance operations came in at $1.5 billion for 2020, compared to $640 million for 2019.