How Warren Buffett Built His Empire – Forbes 1990 — Part Two: Arbitrage Plays

Continued from part one. Ironically, back in the late 80s early 90s, Warren Buffett wasn’t a fan of the insurance sector. During 1990, he commented, “Sometimes it’s a good business–and that’s not very often–and sometimes it’s a terrible business,.” Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance group experienced an average after-tax underwriting loss of $17 million a year from 1986 to 1988. Warren Buffett’s first insurance acquisitions came in 1967, with the purchase of National Indemnity Co. and National Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Since, he has acquired a large number of insurers and reinsurers, making Berkshire one of the world’s largest insurance groups. But…