Buffett has “almost eliminated” BH's US cat business

Speaking on US cable television station CNBC, Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has said that the company has “almost eliminated” its US catastrophe insurance business.

Buffett said that while rates have come down “dramatically” on US catastrophe business, “we do not regard the exposures as having come down dramatically”. In response, the company has dramatically reduced its catastrophe insurance underwriting.

He added that declining interest rates were also playing into the company’s decision.

US catastrophe rates continue to come under pressure following another benign catastrophe season, with peak peril risk such as Florida hurricane and California earthquake having faced no major losses for a decade.