“Our Main Business Is Insurance” 39large impact on Berkshire’s overall performance for several years. Today,
that unpleasant state of affairs has been rectif ied.
Berkshire’s superior f inancial strength has distinguished its insurance
operations from the rest of the industry. When competitors vanish from
the marketplace because they are frightened by recent losses, Berkshire
stands by as a constant supplier of insurance. In a word, the f inancial in-
tegrity that Buffett has imposed on Berkshire’s insurance companies has
created a franchise in what is otherwise a commodity business. It’s not
surprising that Buffett notes, in his typical straightforward way, “Our
main business is insurance.”^13
The stream of cash generated by Berkshire’s insurance operations is
mind-boggling: some $44.2 billion in 2003. What Buffett does with that
cash def ines him and his company. And that takes us to our next chapter.