BOSTON, March 7 (Reuters) – The deadly start to the
2012 tornado season is forcing insurers to reconsider the risks
of coverage in the most storm-prone parts of the United States
and industry insiders say they may have to rethink how they
handle the underwriting of the reoccurring natural disasters.

Unfortunately, homeowners may find themselves either paying
substantially higher rates or not having insurance at all, as
insurers try to manage their exposure to what is clearly a
growing concern by diversifying geographically and tightening
their standards.

BOSTON (Reuters) – The deadly start to the 2012 tornado season is forcing insurers to reconsider the risks of coverage in the most storm-prone parts of the United States and industry insiders say they may have to rethink how they handle the underwriting of the reoccurring natural disasters.

Unfortunately, homeowners may find themselves either paying substantially higher rates or not having insurance at all, as insurers try to manage their exposure to what is clearly a growing concern by diversifying geographically and tightening their standards.

BOSTON (Reuters) – Less than a year after a series of tornadoes caused some of the worse insured losses in U.S. history, the insurance industry is likely facing substantial costs again after storms killed at least 33 people on Friday.

Friday’s system has already been compared to the “Super Outbreak” of April 1974, one of the largest and most violent ever recorded in the United States, as well as to a devastating outbreak last April. In total more than 46 people have died this week from violent storms.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three dozen people were charged with scheming to defraud automobile insurers out of more than $279 million in accident benefits, in a scheme said to involve doctors, lawyers and patients who were coached to fake injuries.

Federal and New York City investigators said the defendants took part in a “medical fraud mill” involving bogus clinics in and around New York City that billed insurers for unnecessary or nonexistent treatments.

NEW YORK, Feb 29 (Reuters) – Three dozen people were
charged with defrauding automobile insurers out of more than
$275 million in accident benefits, a scheme that authorities
said involved doctors, lawyers and patients who were coached to
fake injuries.

The defendants are accused of creating a “medical fraud
mill” that involved starting bogus clinics in and around New
York City that billed auto insurers for treatments that were
unnecessary or never provided.

By Ben Berkowitz

(Reuters) – Warren Buffett told investors on Saturday the Berkshire Hathaway board has identified his successor, easing some shareholder concern about the future of the company once the famed 81-year-old investor steps down as chief executive.

Buffett did not disclose who the next CEO will be in his annual letter to Berkshire (BRKa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) shareholders. But he began the dispatch with the succession topic, one that’s been a huge issue for shareholders for years.

By Ben Berkowitz

(Reuters) – Anyone looking for more evidence of a strengthening U.S. economic recovery need only consider conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), where businesses ranging from railroads and electric utilities to furniture and candy stores are racking up record profits.

Even though Berkshire’s Warren Buffett says with emphasis that the housing market is still in a depression, he was as upbeat as ever this weekend on the rest of the dozens of businesses he owns.

Feb 25 (Reuters) – Warren Buffett told investors on
Saturday the Berkshire Hathaway board has identified
his successor, easing some shareholder concern about the future
of the company once the famed 81-year-old investor steps down as
chief executive.

Buffett did not disclose who the next CEO will be in his
annual letter to Berkshire shareholders. But he began the letter
with the succession topic – one that’s been a huge issue for
shareholders for years.

Feb 23 (Reuters) – Bailed-out insurer American
International Group reported a $19.8 billion profit for
the fourth quarter, after an accounting determination that it is
likely to post future profits let it release the value of some
tax benefits.

The move essentially means AIG will not pay tax on tens of
billions of dollars in income in the coming years, thanks to
benefits that stem from its crisis-era losses.

BOSTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) – Investing can make for
strange bedfellows.

On Tuesday Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway
reported taking a 1.48 percent stake in John Malone’s Liberty
Media in the fourth quarter, nearly enough to make
Berkshire a top-10 shareholder. Berkshire also ramped up its
stake to nearly 3 percent in satellite broadcaster DirecTV
, which Malone formerly chaired and in which he remains a
major holder.

Aside from their riches, savvy investing and simple
lifestyles, the two investors could not be more opposite:
Buffett built a diversified financial and industrial empire and
has famously called the low income-tax rate he pays unfair.
Malone built a media powerhouse through deals structured to
incur the least tax.