Company: BRK-A
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-025210
Chunk: 203

Company: BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 7
Chunk 203
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 in all business categories, except in our retroactive reinsurance and periodic payment annuity businesses. Time-value-of-money is an important consideration in establishing premiums for these policies, which we normally receive at the contract inception date. Claim and benefit payments can extend for decades and are expected to exceed premiums, producing underwriting losses over the claim settlement periods through changes in deferred charge assets established on retroactive reinsurance contracts and accretion of discounted annuity liabilities, as well as changes in the estimated ultimate liabilities.

Underwriting results of our insurance businesses are summarized below (dollars in millions). 

    2024

    2023

    2022

    Pre-tax underwriting earnings (loss):

    GEICO
    $
    7,813

    $
    3,635

    $
    (1,880
    )

    Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group
     
    855

    1,374

    393

    Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group
     
    2,737

    1,904

    1,465

    Pre-tax underwriting earnings (loss)
     
    11,405

    6,913

    (22
    )

    Income taxes and noncontrolling interests
     
    2,385

    1,485

    8

    Net underwriting earnings (loss)
    $
    9,020

    $
    5,428

    $
    (30
    )

    Effective income tax rate
     
    20.9
    %

    21.5
    %
     
    *

——————

* Not meaningful. 

K-34

Management’s Discussion and Analysis 

Insurance—Underwriting 

GEICO 

GEICO writes property and casualty policies, primarily private passenger automobile insurance, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. GEICO markets its policies mainly by direct response methods where most customers apply for coverage directly to the company via the Internet or over the telephone. GEICO also operates an insurance agency that offers primarily homeowners and renters insurance to its auto policyholders. A summary of GEICO’s underwriting results follows (dollars in millions). 

    2024

    2023

    2022

    Amount

    %

    Amount

    %

    Amount

    %

    Premiums written
    $
    42,916

    $
    39,837

    $
    39,