July 31 (Reuters) – Hedge fund heavyweight David Einhorn’s
reinsurance business, Greenlight Capital Re Ltd, on
Tuesday warned that other insurers were making “irrational”
deals in Florida in the face of heavy competition.

The Florida market is crucial for Bermuda- and Caymans-based
reinsurers like Greenlight because of the heavy weather-related
risks there. Reinsuring Florida homeowners’ policies has been
one of Greenlight’s key categories in recent years.

July 27 (Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway
(BRKa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is bidding on a bankrupt mortgage lender that it may
not want, in what some investors and observers view as an effort
to make more money on Berkshire’s stake in the company’s bonds.

Berkshire has made two bids for Residential Capital, the
bankrupt unit of Ally Financial (GKM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) that makes loans and
collects payments on them. Both bids were topped by Nationstar
Mortgage Holdings (NSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which also makes and services loans.
An auction for the unit is due to start this fall.

By Ben Berkowitz and Caroline Humer

(Reuters) – Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is bidding on a bankrupt mortgage lender that it may not want, in what some investors and observers view as an effort to make more money on Berkshire’s stake in the company’s bonds.

Berkshire has made two bids for Residential Capital, the bankrupt unit of Ally Financial (GKM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) that makes loans and collects payments on them. Both bids were topped by Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which also makes and services loans. An auction for the unit is due to start this fall.

July 25 (Reuters) – Two of the largest crop insurers in the
United States played down concerns over the financial impact of
the worst drought in more than 50 years, saying they expected
only modest losses even as claims rise to record levels.

Wells Fargo’s RCIS and Ace Ltd’s Rain & Hail
and said this week that between careful underwriting and
reinsurance, they could handle what many expect to be billions
of dollars in total payouts for crop losses this year.

BOSTON/LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) – Some of the world’s
largest insurers for corporate directors and officers could be
on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in claims over
the next few years to cover legal costs for people caught up in
the LIBOR scandal.

As a result of those costs, which insurers fear could
accumulate for the next few years, already rising insurance
rates stand to go even higher for all companies.

July 23 (Reuters) – The first-ever mutual municipal bond
insurer launched on Monday, with an endorsement from the
National League of Cities and a goal of bringing competition
back to a once huge market that nearly collapsed after the
credit crisis.

Build America Mutual Assurance Co, started by two veterans
of the bond insurance industry — and its recent turmoil —
received a “AA” rating from Standard & Poor’s, which said it
expects the company to gain “very strong market penetration.” It
is now the highest-rated bond insurer in the country.

By Ben Berkowitz and Tom Polansek

(Reuters) – The drought ravaging America’s prime farmland is having an unexpected consequence that could shape the future of agricultural finance: in some cases, farmers who have amped up their insurance coverage may be giving up on their crops early rather than to trying to save them.

Anecdotal evidence and economic assumptions suggest that a record number of farmers are likely preparing to file insurance claims this year, opting to plow under their withered crops — some without bothering to administer the costly pesticides and weed killers that might help salvage a dwindling harvest.

July 20 (Reuters) – The drought ravaging America’s prime
farmland is having an unexpected consequence that could shape
the future of agricultural finance: in some cases, farmers who
have amped up their insurance coverage may be giving up on their
crops early rather than to trying to save them.

Anecdotal evidence and economic assumptions suggest that a
record number of farmers are likely preparing to file insurance
claims this year, opting to plow under their withered crops –
some without bothering to administer the costly pesticides and
weed killers that might help salvage a dwindling harvest.

By Ben Berkowitz

(Reuters) – Travelers Cos Inc (TRV.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) reported a second-quarter profit on Thursday but missed Wall Street expectations, as the insurer’s catastrophe losses fell from a year ago but were still higher than historical norms.

Travelers, a Dow Jones industrial average .DJI component, also said commercial insurance pricing had risen more than 7 percent in the quarter. The company was one of the first in the industry to push and sustain price increases after years of weakness. Prices also rose in personal and professional lines, and retentions were steady.

By Ben Berkowitz

(Reuters) – Progressive Corp (PGR.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) already has hundreds of thousands of auto insurance customers who willingly let the company track their driving behavior in exchange for the chance at substantial discounts, and on Monday the company opened the door to competitors’ clients as well.

Progressive, the fourth-largest U.S. auto insurer, said it would open its “Snapshot” usage-based insurance program to anyone who wanted to track how well they drive.