Berkshires namesake reinsurance group and General Re unit incurred costs tied to a cyclone in Australia. Pretax profit fell 34 percent at Geico, which sells auto coverage.

State Farm, the largest U.S. home and auto insurer, plans to shut 11 U.S. facilities, displacing about 4,200 workers, after a $7 billion annual underwriting loss last year on auto policies.

American International Group Inc. is weighing a plan to hire Brian Duperreault as the companys seventh chief executive officer since 2005, according to people familiar with the boards deliberations.

AIG said it plans to open an insurer in Luxembourg to write business in the European Economic Area and Switzerland once the U.K. exits the European Union.

Investment income from insurance units fell to $889 million from $1.03 billion during the same period in 2015.

MetLife will keep a U.S. operation that includes property-casualty insurance, the retirement and income-solutions division and a group offering coverage through employers.

The reinsurance deal transfers liabilities on certain U.S. policies from 2015 and earlier. The coverage involves so-called long-tail policies, in which claims can emerge years after a policy is issued.

The earthquake that struck New Zealand this week could cost the insurance industry as much as $3.7 billion, according to catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide.