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The Top 25 Property/Casualty Insurance Writers

No, neither Johnathan Franzen nor myself made the list. We’re talking about the companies that wrote the most business in 2010. Here’s the full list of the top 25 U.S. carriers in terms of net premiums written, according to AM Best.

1. State Farm Group—$50,808,635
2. Allstate Insurance Group—$24,796,656
3. Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos.—$21,483,996
4. Berkshire Hathaway Insurance—$21,358,316
5. Travelers Group—$20,594,458
6. American International Group—$19,687,720
7. Nationwide Group—$14,489,531
8. Progressive Insurance Group—$14,476,676
9. Farmers Insurance Group—$14,129,512
10. USAA Group—$10,679,414
11. Hartford Insurance Group—$9,688,760
12. Chubb Group of Insurance Cos.—$8,927,736
13. CNA Insurance Cos.—$6,188,618
14. American Family Insurance Group—$5,324,290
15. Allianz of America—$4,666,301
16. Auto-Owners Insurance Group—$4,485,442
17. Munich-America Holding Corp.—$4,413,834
18. Zurich Financial Services NA Group—$4,400,123
19. Erie Insurance Group—$4,019,273
20. Ace INA Group—$3,705,475
21. Transatlantic Holdings Inc. Group—$3,418,020
22. W.R. Berkley Group—$3,392,330
23. The Hanover Insurance Group Property & Casualty Cos.—$3,053,508
24. MetLife Auto & Home Group—$2,983,236
25. Cincinnati Insurance Cos.—$2,965,462

Warren Buffett Urges More Insurance Underwriting Discipline, Fewer “Testosterone-Driven” Decisions

When it comes to making good financial decisions, few people are more respected than Warren Buffett. So when the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company that counts GEICO, General Re and BH Reinsurance among its revenue generators, gives the insurance industry some advice, many will take note.

Buffett made the following pointed statements in a shareholder letter, warning the industry against “testosterone-driven CEO[s]” that chase policy volume even if it means writing business at  “inadequate prices.”

“At bottom, a sound insurance operation requires four disciplines: (1) An understanding of all exposures that might cause a policy to incur losses; (2) A conservative evaluation of the likelihood of any exposure actually causing a loss and the probable cost if it does; (3) The setting of a premium that will deliver a profit, on average, after both prospective loss costs and operating expenses are covered; and (4) The willingness to walk away if the appropriate premium can’t be obtained,” the letter states.  “Many insurers pass the first three tests and flunk the fourth. The urgings of Wall Street, pressures from the agency force and brokers, or simply a refusal by a testosterone-driven CEO to accept shrinking volumes has led too many insurers to write business at inadequate prices. ‘The other guy is doing it so we must as well’ spells trouble in any business, but none more so than insurance.”

Such comments are not surprising from someone with a conservative risk appetite like the one that has famously made billions of dollars for the Omaha Oracle. The only question, then, is whether the industry will follow his advice and re-prioritize underwriting discipline.

The history of the insurance market cycle tells us that this will occur.

We just don’t know when.

Buffett Invests in Munich Re, Boosting Share Price

Munich Re was very happy to recently announce that billionaire Warren Buffett has invested even more money in the company. He now holds a 3.045% stake in the company and news of the investment boosted share price by 2%.

A 30-day view of Munich Re's share price, compared to the 200-day simple moving average.

A 30-day view of Munich Re's share price, compared to the 200-day simple moving average.

In early 2008, Buffett’s investment company, Berkshire Hathaway, bought a 3% stake in Swiss Re. During the U.S. subprime crisis, the company helped rescue Swiss Re from financial trouble with a major loan, helping to strengthen the reinsurance company’s balance sheet.

Berkshire Hathaway itself has reinsurance operations, Berkshire Hathaway Re, which is among the largest three reinsurers worldwide by gross premium income. Buffett has repeatedly said in the past that he isn’t eyeing a takeover of the Swiss company. However, during the past two years, Swiss Re and Berkshire have entered several reinsurance deals, raising speculation that the two firms could merge at some point.

Buffett is no stranger to the reinsurance market. Berkshire Hathaway owns Berkshire Hathaway Re, one of the largest three reinsurers worldwide in terms of gross premium income. Berkshire also owns various other insurance companies, including GEICO, which it acquired in 1996, General Re, which it acquired in 1998, NRG (Nederlandse Reassurantie Groep), which it bought in 2007 and Berkshire Hathaway Assurance, a government bond issuance company.