Berkshire Hathaway, the Warren Buffett-run holding company and conglomerate, has reported net underwriting earnings of $2 billion and $3.3 billion for the second quarter and first half of 2025, respectively, both down on the comparable prior year periods, as the firm’s primary insurance arm felt the impacts from catastrophe events and increased loss estimates for prior accident years’ claims.

Across the Berkshire Hathaway insurance and reinsurance operations, net underwriting earnings fell from $2.3 billion in Q2 2024 and from $4.9 billion in H1 2024, but remain strong despite a first half underwriting loss at Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group.

Group-wide insurance underwriting earnings included after-tax losses of roughly $850 million from the Los Angeles, California wildfires, which occurred in Q1 2025, and impacted both the primary insurance business and Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group’s property and casualty (P&C) business.

At Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance, which offers excess-of-loss and quota-share reinsurance coverages on property and casualty risks via NICO, General Re, and TransRe Groups, pre-tax underwriting earnings fell from $782 million in Q2’24 to $650 million in Q2’25, and from $1.7 billion in H1’24 to $343 million in H1’25, reflecting the elevated loss experience.

Within the reinsurance arm, P&C underwriting income increased slightly to $1.1 billion in Q2’25 but decreased from $2 billion in H1’24 to $1.1 billion in H1’25.

For the quarter, losses and loss adjustment expenses declined by 12% to $2.8 billion, but for the first half of the year increased by 4% to $6.4 billion. Losses incurred from the California wildfires were approximately $760 million in the first six months of 2025. However, the P&C business also saw estimated ultimate liabilities for losses occurring in prior accident years reduced by $506 million in 2025 and $734 million in 2024, mostly attributable to lower-than-expected property losses.

Underwriting expenses fell 11% in Q2’25 to $1.3 billion and by 1% to $2.9 billion in H1’25, and included foreign currency exchange losses from the remeasurement of certain non-U.S. Dollar denominated liabilities of $58 million in Q2 and $200 million in H1’25, and gains of $25 million in Q2 and $51 million in H1’24.

In terms of growth, the P&C reinsurance operation saw premiums decline 10% in Q2’25 to just over $5 billion, while premiums written for H1’25 declined by 7% year-on-year to $11.2 billion. Berkshire Hathaway attributes the decline to writing less property business in the periods.

P&C reinsurance premiums earned totalled $5.1 billion in Q2’25 compared with $5.6 billion a year earlier, and for the first six months of 2025, totalled $10.3 billion, down on H1’24’s $11 billion.

The reinsurance business also writes life and health reinsurance coverages through the General Re Group and Berkshire Hathaway Life Insurance Company of Nebraska, and here, underwriting earnings fell from $73 million to $52 million in Q2’25, and from $181 million to $122 million in H1’25. According to the firm, the year-to-date decline reflected the impact of U.S. life contract commutation gains of approximately $50 million in 2024.

L&H reinsurance premiums written increased to $1.4 billion in Q2’25 from $1.2 billion last year, and for H1’25 rose to $2.6 billion from $2.5 billion. Premiums earned also increased, by 10% in Q2’25 to $1.4 billion, and by 6% in H1’25 to $2.6 billion, driven by increases in non-U.S. markets.

Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group also includes retroactive reinsurance, periodic payment annuity, and variable annuity operations. On the former, Berkshire notes that it has not written any significant retroactive reinsurance contracts in recent years, explaining that pre-tax underwriting results derive from changes in the ultimate claim liability estimates and changes in the related deferred charge assets, and from foreign currency exchange gains and losses attributable to non-U.S. Dollar denominated reinsurance contracts.

“Changes in foreign currency exchange rates produced losses of $88 million in the second quarter and $128 million in the first six months of 2025 compared to losses of $26 million in the second quarter and gains of $19 million in the first six months of 2024. Pre-tax underwriting losses before foreign currency exchange gains/losses were $349 million in the first six months of 2025 compared to $327 million in 2024,” explains the firm.

On the periodic payment annuity business, Berkshire notes that premiums rates for new business continue to be at unacceptable levels, with the company not writing any new business since 2022.

“Changes in foreign currency exchange rates produced losses of $87 million in the second quarter and $136 million in the first six months of 2025 compared to losses of $13 million in the second quarter and $15 million in the first six months of 2024. Pre-tax underwriting losses before foreign currency effects were $276 million in the first six months of 2025 compared to $299 million in 2024,” says the company.

Berkshire’s variable annuity guarantee reinsurance contracts produced pre-tax losses of $3 million in H1’25 compared to earnings of $105 million in 2024, with earnings impacted by changes in securities markets, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates.

Turning to the results of Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group, which consists of several independently managed underwriting operations, pre-tax underwriting earnings fell sharply to $63 million in Q2’25 from $279 million in Q2’24, and for H1’25 the business has recorded an underwriting loss of $81 million compared with a gain of $765 million in H1’24.

Total losses and expenses increased for both periods when compared with last year. Losses and loss adjustment expenses increased by 3% in Q2’25 to $3.2 billion and by 13% to $6.7 billion in H1’25. Losses incurred from the California wildfires were approximately $300 million in H1’25. Additionally, losses incurred this year also included increases in estimated ultimate losses for prior accident years’ claims of a significant $401 million in the first six months of the year, attributable to higher ultimate loss estimates in liability coverages, partly offset by lower ultimate loss estimates in property lines.

In terms of growth at the primary insurance business, written premiums declined by 2% to $4.8 billion in Q2’25 and by 2% to $9.2 billion in H1’25. Premiums earned were flat for the quarter at $4.7 billion and slightly higher for H1’25 at $9.3 billion.

“The declines were primarily due to reductions at GUARD (36% year-to-date) and, to a lesser degree, at BHSI and RSUI, partially offset by higher volumes at NICO Primary, BHHC and BH Direct. GUARD’s premium declines reflected volume reductions across multiple product categories due to management’s decision to exit certain unprofitable lines and tightened overall underwriting standards beginning in 2024,” reports Berkshire Hathaway.

The biggest contributor to Berkshire’s insurance and reinsurance underwriting operations is GEICO, a writer of property and casualty insurance policies, primarily private passenger automobile insurance, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

While GEICO’s performance in both Q2’25 and H1’25 failed to offset declines at both the primary arm and reinsurance division, underwriting earnings were strong and increased to $1.82 billion from $1.79 billion in Q2’25, and rose to $4 billion from $3.7 billion in H1’25, and this is despite higher total losses and expenses for both periods.

At GEICO, losses and loss adjustment expenses increased by 3% to $8 billion in Q2’25 and rose 1% in H1’25 to $15.4 billion. However, the loss ratio came down for both periods by 2.3 and 2.9 points, respectively, reflecting the impact of higher average earned premiums per auto policy and lower claims frequencies, partially offset by increases in average claims severities and less favorable development of prior accident years’ claims estimates.

Premiums written at GEICO increased by 5% in Q2’25 to $11 billion and by 6% in H1’25 to $22.5 billion, reflecting an increase in policies-in-force and higher average premiums per policy. At the same time, premiums earned rose by 6% to $11.1 billion in Q2’25 and by 5% to $21.8 billion in H1’25.

Across the re/insurance businesses, after-tax earnings from investment income increased by 1.4% to $3.4 billion in Q2’25 and by 6% to $6.3 billion in H1’25, driven by higher average short-term investment balances, partially offset by lower interest rates and dividend income, as well as the impact of capital distributions to Berkshire in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Berkshire Hathaway’s float has increased from approximately $171 billion at the end of 2024 to $174 billion at June 30th, 2025.