Berkshire Hathaway, the American multinational conglomerate holding company, has reported increased net underwriting earnings from its insurance and reinsurance businesses of $1.717 billion for the first-quarter of 2026, a roughly 29% increase on the prior year.
The company has again cited a competitive property reinsurance market and lower rate environment as a cause of a reduction in premiums written in that segment in Q1 of this year.
Helping to bolster performance of the insurance and reinsurance underwriting earnings generated by Berkshire Hathaway was an absence of major catastrophe loss impacts in the quarter, with no significant catastrophe events (exceeding $150 million per event) experienced in the period.
A year ago, Berkshire Hathaway’s Q1 2025 results were dented by catastrophe losses from the California wildfires, that affected its property and casualty re/insurance businesses. After-tax losses from significant events in the prior year quarter reached $860 million, the wildfires delivering $1.1 billion of catastrophe losses in that period.
But, Berkshire Hathaway has reported lower underwriting earnings in its reinsurance business and auto-specialist insurer GEICO for Q1 2026,
Earnings were stronger this year in the property and casualty (P&C) reinsurance segment for Berkshire Hathaway in the first-quarter of this year, where its National Indemnity Company (NICO), General Re and TransRe groups are the main underwriting companies.
The company reported P&C reinsurance pre-tax underwriting earnings reached $637 million in Q1 2026, up from just $68 million in the prior year period.
Premiums written fell though, to $5.992 billion in Q1 2026 from $6.135 billion a year ago.
Berkshire explained that the reduced P&C reinsurance premiums written were, “primarily attributable to volume reductions in property business, partly offset by increased casualty business and favorable foreign currency translation effects from a weaker U.S. Dollar.”
Notably adding that, “The property volume decline was attributable to the impacts of increased competition and lower rates.”
After announcing its full-year 2025 results the company had said it “will continue to write less reinsurance premium so “long as these phases of the cycle endure.”
As the property reinsurance market continues to soften, it’s likely we see Berkshire Hathaway continuing to reduce its underwriting here and it will be interesting to see how that changes after the next quarter which will incorporate the Japan and Florida renewal business volumes.
Berkshire Hathaway’s earnings were strongly supported by the absence of major catastrophe losses, with the company reporting its loss and loss adjustment expense ratio falling almost 20% compared to the prior year, a reduction of $715 million.
In addition, changes in prior accident years’ ultimate loss estimates mostly related to lower than expected propery losses resulted in a reduction of incurred losses by $260 million in Q1 2026.
Berkshire Hathaway also mentioned its recent strategic partnership with Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. (TMHD), under which its reinsurance business, National Indemnity Company (NICO), is acquiring a 2.5% stake in the Japanese insurer.
Under that strategic deal, NICO was welcomed onto the Tokio Marine reinsurance panel to assume a portion of its portfolio through Whole Account Quota Share reinsurance.
Today, Berkshire Hathaway explained, “NICO will assume on a quota-share basis a portion of the net non-life premiums written and related losses and expenses of Tokio Marine on risks attaching over a ten-year term commencing April 1, 2026. This contract is expected to generate meaningful premium volumes over its term.”
Again, it will be interesting to see whether there is evidence of those volumes in the next quarterly earnings, given the main Japanese reinsurance renewals were at April 1st, so in the second quarter.
In life and health reinsurance, Berkshire Hathaway reported $126 million of pre-tax underwriting earnings for Q1 2026, up from $70 million in the prior year quarter.
Life reinsurance premiums also rose to $1.318 billion, up from $1.243 billion, with Berkshire citing increased premiums in France, Asia, and the U.K, but lower premiums in Australia.
In the Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group, underwriting earnings reached $476 million and premiums written $4.466 billion for Q1 2026, both up from a -$144 million underwriting loss and $4.423 billion of primary premiums written in the prior year period.
Again, a much improved loss ratio helped the Berkshire primary insurance businesses given the absence of major catastrophe events in Q1 2026, with reported losses and LAE declining $660 million in Q1 this year.
Net insurance investment income fell slightly to $2.26 billion in Q1 2026, from $2.519 billion a year earlier, with Berkshire Hathaway citing lower interest rates.
But still, Berkshire Hathaway’s all-important insurance related premium float grew slightly to $176.9 billion by the end of the first-quarter, up by half a billion since the end of 2025.
Finally, Berkshire Hathaway’s auto insurance business under GEICO suffered from higher claims in the first-quarter, with the company reporting that pre-tax underwriting earnings fell to $1.416 billion for GEICO, down from $2.173 billion in Q1 2025.
GEICO’s losses and loss adjustment expenses increased $853 million in Q1 2026, compared to the prior year, with Berkshire reporting higher claims frequencies and average severities, across both property damage and collision coverages as well as bodily injuries.
So a stronger quarter overall for the Berkshire Hathaway insurance and reinsurance businesses, but with continued evidence of a reduction in property reinsurance writings, while the auto business claims increases may be something to watch for across other US auto insurance market results.
