Hartford Fire settles decade-old asbestos reinsurance dispute with Berkshire unit for $1.12 billion
National Indemnity Company paid Hartford Fire Insurance Company $1.12 billion in cash on September 25, 2026, ending the arbitration between the two insurers
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Hartford Fire Insurance Company and its affiliates have commuted and terminated their Aggregate Excess of Loss Reinsurance Agreement with National Indemnity Company, a Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary. The deal had covered asbestos and environmental adverse development losses since December 31, 2016, and the two sides had been in confidential arbitration over it.
National Indemnity paid Hartford Fire $1.12 billion in cash on September 25, 2026. With that payment, the agreement is commuted and both companies are released from further liabilities under it.
The Hartford Insurance Group expects to book a before tax net gain of $497 million from the settlement, along with a $393 million increase in net income for both the third quarter and the first nine months of 2026. The company said the deal will have no impact on core earnings.
The cash settlement closes out a liability dispute that had run for roughly a decade and lifts a source of long term risk off Hartford's balance sheet. It also adds a one time boost to Hartford's reported earnings for the quarter. For Berkshire, now under new leadership, the willingness to settle a legacy arbitration in cash points to a readiness to close out old disputes rather than let them run, a posture that could ease pressure on legacy liabilities at both insurers.