Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Premiums Written By Region and Country

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This article presents Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance premiums written, categorized by regions and countries, consisting of the United States, Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and others.

For a definition of insurance premiums written and earned, you may visit this section: insurance premiums written and earned.

Let’s take a look!

Investors looking for other statistics of Berkshire Hathaway may find more resources on these pages:

Revenue

• Berkshire Hathaway revenue breakdown: insurance, BNSF, retail, etc.,
• Berkshire Hathaway insurance revenue by division,
• Berkshire Hathaway insurance vs non-insurance revenue,

Profit Margin

• Berkshire Hathaway insurance profit margin by category,
• Berkshire Hathaway insurance profit breakdown by category,

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Definitions

To help readers understand the content better, the following terms and glossaries have been provided.

Insurance Premiums Written And Earned: The terms “insurance premiums earned” and “insurance premiums written” refer to different aspects of an insurance company’s revenue:

Written Premium: This is the total amount of premium income that an insurance company records when it issues new policies during a specific period. It represents the sales of new insurance contracts, regardless of whether the coverage period has elapsed. For example, if an insurance company sells 1,000 new policies at $1,000 each, the written premium for that period would be $1 million.

Earned Premium: This is the portion of the written premium that the insurance company has actually earned by providing coverage over a specific period. It reflects the amount of premium that corresponds to the time the insurer has been on risk for the policyholder. For instance, if a policyholder pays a $1,000 annual premium, the earned premium for six months would be $500, as the insurer has provided coverage for half the policy term.

In summary, written premiums represent the total potential revenue from new policies sold, while earned premiums represent the actual revenue recognized for the coverage provided during a specific period.

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FAQs

To help readers understand the content better, the following FAQs have been provided.

How does Berkshire’s insurance premiums get recognized as revenue?

Insurance premiums are recognized as revenue systematically over the coverage period as the insurer provides services, shifting from a liability (unearned premium) to earned revenue as the policy expires.

Under modern standards like IFRS 17, revenue is recognized based on the release of risk coverage, expected expenses, and contractual service margin (CSM) profit over time.

Key Concepts in Revenue Recognition:

• Earned vs. Unearned Premiums: When a premium is received, it is often recorded as a liability known as Unearned Premium Reserve (UPR), as the risk has not yet been covered. As the policy term progresses (e.g., monthly), the premium is earned and moved from the balance sheet to the income statement as revenue.

• Time-Proportional Recognition: For short-term contracts (e.g., one-year property insurance), insurers often recognize revenue on a straight-line basis (e.g., 1/12th each month).

• IFRS 17 “Services Provided” Approach: Revenue is recognized when services are delivered, comprising:

  • Release of Risk Adjustment: Compensation for bearing non-financial risk as time passes.

  • Contractual Service Margin (CSM) Release: Unearned profit (CSM) is released into revenue over the coverage period, reflecting the profit earned from providing protection.

  • Expected Expenses: Expected insurance service expenses and claims for the period.

• Premium Allocation Approach (PAA): A simplified method allowed under IFRS 17 for short-term contracts, similar to the traditional earned premium approach.

Example:If a company charges a $1,200 premium for a one-year policy, it does not record $1,200 as revenue immediately. Instead, it records $1,200 in liabilities, and recognizes $100 per month as revenue as coverage is provided.

A comprehensive statistics of Berkshire’s insurance underwriting revenue and investment income is available on this page: Berkshire insurance underwriting revenue and investment income.

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Insight & Summary of Berkshire Hathaway’s Insurance Premiums Written

The following analysis consolidates the trends observed across Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance premiums written by region for the 2016–2025 period.

• Total insurance premiums written have grown consistently from $46.9B in 2016 to $89.4B in 2025 — a 90.5% increase over nine years — reflecting organic growth across all regions and Berkshire’s structurally expanding insurance float base. The 3-year average of $87.8B confirms the business is operating at nearly double its 2016 level, with growth decelerating from the 32.7% surge in 2017 (largely a reinsurance expansion year) to a more moderate 0.8% in 2025. The 2025 near-flatness in premium growth is not alarming at this scale — it reflects pricing normalisation across personal lines and reinsurance rather than volume contraction.

• The United States is overwhelmingly dominant, representing 82% of total premiums on a 3-year average basis — a position that has been structurally stable throughout the period. U.S. premiums grew from $39.4B in 2016 to $73.9B in 2025, a 3-year average of $72.0B. Share has held in the 80–87% range across all ten years with a 3-year average of 82.0%, reflecting the concentrated domestic nature of GEICO (personal auto), Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies, and Berkshire’s primary commercial lines businesses. The FY2025 U.S. growth of only 1.1% — after 11.9% in 2023 and 5.7% in 2024 — signals post-rate-hardening normalisation, particularly in personal auto where GEICO’s aggressive rate increases from 2022–2024 are lapping their own prior-year base.

• Asia Pacific has been a structurally flat and mildly disappointing contributor. Asia Pacific premiums grew from $4.3B in 2016 to a peak of $7.1B in 2023 before declining to $6.1B in 2025. The 3-year average of $6.6B and -1.4% average growth — the weakest of all regions — reflects both the competitive dynamics of Asian reinsurance markets and the impact of currency translation on yen- and Australian dollar-denominated premiums. Asia Pacific’s mix share has declined from 9.2% in 2016 to 6.8% in 2025 (3-year average 7.5%), making it the only region to lose meaningful share over the period. The FY2024 (-6.7%) and FY2025 (-8.0%) consecutive declines warrant attention — if Asia Pacific continues contracting, its already-modest 7.5% share will erode further.

• Western Europe has been the most consistent international growth story, effectively doubling in premium volume over the decade. Western European premiums grew from $2.2B in 2016 to $6.7B in 2024 before easing to $6.6B in 2025, with a 3-year average of $6.5B. The standout growth years were FY2020 (+41.5%) and FY2021 (+21.4%), driven by Berkshire’s reinsurance expansion in European markets — particularly specialty lines and casualty reinsurance — as market capacity tightened post-COVID. Western Europe’s mix share expanded from 4.7% in 2016 to 7.4–7.5% in recent years (3-year average 7.4%), nearly doubling its relative weight within Berkshire’s premium base. The 2025 near-flat growth (-0.9%) follows several strong years and is consistent with global reinsurance pricing trends.

• Other regions contribute a modest but growing absolute premium volume with high volatility in annual growth rates. “Other” premiums grew from $1.0B in 2016 to $2.8B in 2025 (3-year average $2.7B, 3.1% mix share), with growth rates swinging from -24.5% (FY2018) to +70.7% (FY2017) and +34.8% (FY2023). This volatility reflects the catch-all nature of the category — which includes Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and other markets — where individual large reinsurance treaties can move the aggregate significantly. The 3-year average growth of 11.9% is the highest of any region, but this is driven in part by the FY2023 spike and partly offset by the FY2024 contraction (-18.9%).

• Structural Takeaway: Berkshire’s insurance premium base is a near-sovereign-quality, U.S.-centric book ($72B domestic) with approximately $15–16B of international diversification across Asia Pacific, Western Europe, and Other markets. The geographic concentration in the U.S. is a structural feature rather than a risk: GEICO’s personal auto and Berkshire’s primary commercial books are geographically constrained by their business models. The international exposure primarily resides in the Reinsurance Group, where global market conditions matter more than geography per se. The overall premium trajectory — $89B and growing — is healthy and consistent with Berkshire’s goal of expanding its insurance float, which is the ultimate economic driver of the entire insurance operation.

The table below combines all key Berkshire’s insurance premiums written by region metrics into a single view for the latest three fiscal years.

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Premiums Written: United States, Asia Pacific, Western Europe, Other, and Total Premiums

You can find the definitions of Berkshire’s insurance premiums written and earned here: insurance premiums written and earned.

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Premiums Mix: United States, Asia Pacific, Western Europe, Other, and Total Premiums

You can find the definitions of Berkshire’s insurance premiums written and earned here: insurance premiums written and earned.

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Premiums Growth: United States, Asia Pacific, Western Europe, Other, and Total Premiums

You can find the definitions of Berkshire’s insurance premiums written and earned here: insurance premiums written and earned.

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Credits And References

1. All financial data presented in this article was obtained and referenced from Berkshire Hathaway’s annual reports published in the company’s investor relation page: Berkshire’s Reports.

2. Pexels Images.

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Disclosure

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist us in writing some of the text in this article. However, the data is directly obtained from original sources (usually the quarterly and annual reports) and meticulously cross-checked by our editors multiple times to ensure its accuracy and reliability.

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