BestWeek: A Team of Rivals: The Long Coattails of Berkshire Hathaway

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With its vast capacity, Berkshire Hathaway is a one-of-a-kind giant that casts a long shadow in the reinsurance and retrocession market, but its goal of reaching for only the highest-priced, most profitable business leaves plenty of room for the competition to feast on the lower branches, according to this week’s BestWeek U.S./Canada.

“not only because of its size, but because of its capacity for decision making. There are only a few other pools of capital that are even in the same ballpark.”

Berkshire Hathaway “is in a unique place,” John Lummis, retired chief operating officer with Renaissance Re, told BestWeek, “not only because of its size, but because of its capacity for decision making. There are only a few other pools of capital that are even in the same ballpark.”

In BestWeek Europe, as the European Union pushes for implementation of its Solvency II capital adequacy standards for insurers by 2012, concerns are mounting that European insurers might not be prepared to meet those standards in time. European insurance trade groups such as the Paris-based CEA are raising concerns that insurers, already wrestling with the financial fallout from the global debt crisis, might not be in a position to meet Solvency II’s standards.

And BestWeek U.S./Canada highlights the storytelling axiom of “man bites dog” being more compelling news than “dog bites man.” With California’s Proposition 17, the “dog bites man” story: The Association of California Insurance Companies endorsed a ballot measure to allow insurance companies to lower premiums for drivers who have continuously maintained automobile insurance coverage, even if they switch insurers. To proponents, it’s just an extension of loyalty discounts for customers of a single company, which are currently allowed by law. The “man bites dog” part: To USAA Group, California’s ninth-largest car insurer, the ballot question would harm its client base — members of the U.S. military and their family members.

BestWeek is published by A.M. Best Co. for insurance professionals. To subscribe, visit http://www.ambest.com/sales/BestWeek.

Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial and health care service industries, including insurance companies, banks, hospitals and health care system providers. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.