Buffett: Reinsurer Stops Paying Claims
By REUTERS
Filed at 6:30 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said a large unnamed reinsurer has ``all but ceased paying claims,'' which he said would lead to billions of dollars of write-offs by insurers who bought policies from the company.
His comments, along with general unease over the economy and a potential war, sent insurance stocks sharply lower in Europe and the United States.
Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKa.N) is the world's third-largest
reinsurer, through its General Re unit, did not name the reinsurer in comments made in his annual letter to shareholders, published on Saturday.
``One of the world's largest reinsurers -- a company regularly recommended to primary insurers by leading brokers -- has all but ceased paying claims, including those both valid and due,'' Buffett wrote. ``This company owes many billions of dollars to hundreds of primary insurers who now face massive write-offs.''
Several reinsurers -- companies that take on a share of insurers' risks, for a premium, to help them dilute the effect of large claims -- have stopped underwriting in the past year as massive claims, such as those from the World Trade Center, hit them hard after almost a decade of plunging premium rates.
Analysts speculated that Gerling Global Re, a unit of troubled German insurer Gerling, was the company referred to by Buffett.
``A simple process of elimination points to no other likely reinsurer,'' said Chris Winans, an analyst at Williams Capital Group.
``We are paying all claims that fall due,'' a Gerling spokesman told Reuters.
Gerling Global Re -- the world's No. 7 reinsurer in 2001, according to rating agency Standard & Poor's -- stopped underwriting new business six months ago. Gerling moved to sell the unit to a group of investors, but German financial regulators blocked the sale last month, partly over fears that claims would not be paid.
``The future of Gerling Global Re as a viable claims paying organization is increasingly uncertain,'' said Fox-Pitt Kelton analyst Michael Hallett. Fox-Pitt Kelton is owned by Swiss Re (RUKZn.VX), a rival reinsurer.
Market sources in Germany said that Gerling Global Re had not stopped paying claims, although there might be problems with payouts ahead.
If Gerling Global Re does stop paying claims, it would mean large losses for many insurers around the world.
U.S. insurers CNA Financial Corp. (CNA.N), Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (HIG.N) and Travelers Property Casualty Corp. (TAPa.N) are the U.S. insurers most exposed to losses from Gerling Global Re, said Fox- Pitt Kelton analysts, citing information from statutory filings.
All those companies' shares fell more than 3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. The Standard & Poor's U.S. insurance index closed down 4 percent. The Dow Jones European insurance stock index fell 5.6 percent.
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