The company has now won the permit that it needs to sell nonlife coverage within the country.
In insurance news that represents a first for Berkshire Hathaway in terms of opening up shop in Asia for nonlife products, Warren Buffett’s conglomerate has now won a license to sell in Singapore, representing a first step that the company is taking in a broader expansion across that region.
The license in the South East Asian country was awarded to Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance.
The company behind this insurance news provides a range of different types of coverage, including commercial property and casualty, among others. This is a major step in its overall intentions for global expansion and in selling insurance policies specifically within Singapore. There, it will be selling commercial property, energy construction, energy, marine, and financial products.
This insurance news is believed to be only the beginning of a much broader global expansion.
Through its reinsurance unit, Gen Re., Berkshire does already have somewhat of an insurance presence in the Asian region. However, this is the first time that it will be selling its Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) policies in that part of the world.
According to the president of BHSI, Peter Eastwood, in a release from the company, “We are pleased to bring the stability and capacity of [Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance] to serve the commercial insurance needs of customers in Singapore.”
The insurance company has already started to take the steps that are required to be able to expand into other parts of the world. Some of the areas in which it has sought to obtain licenses include Hong Kong, Sydney, and Europe. This news was reported back in August, but it is in Singapore where the first among the licenses has now been issued.
In order to reach this point in its insurance news BHSI has also been making a range of other efforts in order to prepare itself for its Asian growth, such as by snatching up senior executives from one of its top rivals American International Group (AIG). Among them is its current regional president, Marc Breuil, who had previously headed the country operations of AIG in Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong.
