Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance underwriting earnings fell 43% in the third quarter of 2026, dropping to $1.35 billion from $2.37 billion a year earlier, according to the conglomerate’s Q3 earnings release filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The decline was the steepest among major US carriers that have reported third-quarter results.
The divergence across carrier results matters for brokers assessing where to place business heading into January 2027 renewals. Carriers absorbing higher personal auto losses or casualty reserve deterioration may tighten appetite or adjust pricing in those segments, while those with stronger underwriting positions could compete more aggressively for accounts.
GEICO, one of the largest personal lines carriers in the US, was the primary driver of Berkshire’s underwriting drop. The unit reported a combined ratio of 84.5% for Q3 2026, with management citing higher claims frequency, increased average severity, and rising commissions and advertising expenses.
As the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) and Milliman have noted, the broader P&C industry is on track for a 94.0 net combined ratio in full-year 2026, making Berkshire’s personal lines deterioration stand out against the sector’s aggregate strength.
Those loss trends align with data from the Triple-I and the Casualty Actuarial Society. A joint analysis published in October 2026 found that motor vehicle tort filings in federal courts reached 6,809 in 2024, the highest annual total in 30 years. The average plaintiff award in federal motor vehicle tort cases rose from $377,000 during 1995 to 2004 to $681,000 during 2015 to 2024.
“The data show a growing disconnect between motor vehicle tort litigation and underlying claims frequency,” said Sean Kevelighan, CEO of Triple-I.
A separate Triple-I/CAS study estimated that legal system abuse drove liability insurance losses higher by between $231.6 billion and $281.2 billion over the decade ending in 2024, with personal auto liability accounting for $91.6 billion to $102.3 billion of that total. For brokers managing auto fleet or commercial auto accounts, those numbers underscore why carriers are scrutinizing loss history and venue risk more closely at renewal.
By comparison, Chubb’s P&C underwriting income fell 8.8% to $2.06 billion, according to the company’s Q3 press release. AIG’s general insurance underwriting income dropped 29% to $564 million. Travelers posted a combined ratio of 86.8%, an improvement from 87.3% a year earlier, with underwriting gains rising to $1.43 billion.
AIG’s North America commercial underwriting income fell 57% to $167 million, with its combined ratio rising to 92.9% from 82.6%, driven by higher catastrophe charges and less favorable prior-year reserve development. The Hartford’s middle and large commercial segment saw its underlying combined ratio climb to 99.5% from 91.4%, which the company attributed to a higher workers’ compensation loss ratio and higher non-catastrophe property losses.
Chubb’s North America commercial combined ratio rose to 86.3% from 81.5%. Travelers was an outlier, with its business insurance combined ratio at 90.9% and underwriting gains rising year over year.
AM Best data showed that the P&C industry’s first-half 2026 underwriting income nearly tripled to $31.2 billion in the strongest half-year result in years, but the Q3 carrier reports suggest that casualty loss costs and reserve movements are beginning to pressure the margins behind those aggregate figures.
For the first nine months of 2026, Berkshire’s underwriting earnings totaled $4.8 billion, down from $5.7 billion in the prior-year period. Insurance float stood at approximately $178.5 billion as of September 30, 2026, an increase of about $2.1 billion since year-end 2025. Insurance investment income fell to $2.73 billion for Q3, down approximately 14% from $3.18 billion a year earlier, driven largely by lower short-term interest rates.
Berkshire, which overtook Allianz as the world’s largest insurer by assets earlier in 2026, cautioned that “the amount of investment gains (losses) in any given quarter is usually meaningless and delivers figures for net earnings per share that can be extremely misleading to investors who have little or no knowledge of accounting rules.”
