Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway promoted Bill Roberts topresident and COO of auto insurer, Geico.

Geico CEO Tony Nicely, who had additionally been presidentof the insurer, said in a statement that he “will continue to bevery actively involved in the overall management of the company,”but Roberts will “take on a greater role in managing Geico'sday-to-day operations.”

Roberts has been executive vice president of Geico since 2000with oversight of marketing, advertising, and the Internet businessunit, says Geico, the third-largest auto insurer in the U.S. He hasbeen with Geico for nearly 30 years.

State Farm and Allstate hold the first two spots but Geico, whospent more on advertising than any other U.S. P&C insurer lastyear, gained market share in 2012, according to data from SNLFinancial.

Berkshire Hathaway leapt over Allstate in 2012 to become thesecond-largest P&C insurance group based on net premiumswritten, according SNL.

Lists of the Top 100 insurance groups and insurance companies,based on total net premiums written, will be published in the Julyedition of PropertyCasualty360-National Underwritermagazine.

State Farm continues to hold the top spot.

Of the Berkshire companies contributing to the rise in theranking are Geico, which maintained its position as thefifth-largest individual P&C insurance company while increasingNPW 4.6 percent. Meanwhile, Berkshire's National Indemnity Co.increased NPW more than 38 percent to jump four spots to No. 7among ranked insurance companies.