Omaha, NE (BRK.A; BRK.B) ¾  It will be many years before even a rough range can be established for the losses that the insurance industry will sustain from the terrorist events of yesterday. In addition to the normal problems involved in estimating catastrophe losses from natural events, in this case there will be additional complicated issues in respect to coverage and liability that will take years to fully resolve.

Therefore, Berkshire Hathaway cannot now make an intelligent estimate of industry-wide losses. Historically, Berkshire’s share of catastrophe payments (pro-forma for General Re in the years prior to acquisition) has been in the range of 2-3% of the industry’s total losses. Berkshire’s present guess is that it will incur 3-5% of the industry’s loss in this catastrophe due to a different mix of policy coverages than that which prevails in natural catastrophes.

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