Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said it received a subpoena from the New York state attorney general’s office demanding information about its re-insurance subsidiary General Re Corp.
The subpoena was delivered Thursday, eight days after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked for identical information about the re-insurance business, Berkshire Hathaway said in a statement late Thursday.
Buffett is chairman of Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway, which said the subpoena seeks documentation and information relating to nontraditional or loss mitigation insurance products from General Re and all its affiliates — the same information sought by the SEC.
Federal and state regulators have been examining loss mitigation products to see whether insurance companies sold products that may not really be insurance, but instead may be aimed at helping companies smooth out earnings.
“Berkshire Hathaway and General Re will cooperate fully with the New York State Attorney General,” the release, sent Thursday night, said.
General Re, based in Stamford, Conn., is one of the four largest reinsurance companies in the world. Reinsurance policies are generally sold to other insurers and other businesses.
