Berkshire Hathaway's insurance operations “shot the lights out” in 2012, says CEO Warren Buffett in a letter to shareholders.
The conglomerate's insurance divisions recorded an underwriting profit of $1.6 billion in 2012 compared to $248 million the prior year as Berkshire posted net earnings for the year of $14.8 billion, up from $10.3 billion in 2011.
Buffett says it was the 10th consecutive year of underwriting profits for insurance operations, which also supplied the investor with $73 billion of “free” money to invest—premiums collected now to pay claims later, also termed “float” by Buffett.
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