Personal Lines

Read what Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, has to say about his successor, his companys insurance operations, the economy, and a newspaper-throwing challenge.

Read what Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, has to say about his successor, his companys insurance operations, the economy, and a newspaper-throwing challenge.

Berkshire Hathaways insurance group reported a 30.5 percent drop in pre-tax earnings in 2011, driven mainly by $2.6 billion in pre-tax losses from catastrophe events.

Just how big is the Classic & Collectible Car niche? No one is quite sure, with estimates of annual premium ranging from $500 million to $2 billionalthough the majority of industry experts feel $1 billion is a pretty accurate estimate.

Its not only carriers with a focus on high-net-worth clients and classic-car managing general agents that cater to this niche of business; the auto-insurance giants are players as well.

Although many collector cars are of the type that call out for pedal-to-the-metal speedsFerraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratisinsurers are, not surprisingly, touchy about these six-, seven- and even eight-figure vehicles competing on the racetrack.