Berkshire Hathaway 2013 Annual Report Download - page 97

Management’s Discussion (Continued)
Property and casualty losses (Continued)
General Re (Continued)
aggregated by accident year, policy year or underwriting year (depending on client reporting practices) and analyzed over time.
We internally refer to these loss aggregations as loss triangles, which serve as the primary basis for our IBNR reserve
calculations. We review over 300 reserve cells for our North American business and approximately 900 reserve cells with
respect to our international business.
We use loss triangles to determine the expected case loss emergence patterns for most coverages and, in conjunction with
expected loss ratios by accident year, loss triangles are further used to determine IBNR reserves. While additional calculations
form the basis for estimating the expected loss emergence pattern, the determination of the expected loss emergence pattern is
not strictly a mechanical process. In instances where the historical loss data is insufficient, we use estimation formulas along
with reliance on other loss triangles and judgment. Factors affecting our loss development triangles include but are not limited
to the following: changes in client claims practices, changes in claim examiners’ use of ACRs or the frequency of client
company claim reviews, changes in policy terms and coverage (such as client loss retention levels and occurrence and aggregate
policy limits), changes in loss trends and changes in legal trends that result in unanticipated losses, as well as other sources of
statistical variability. Collectively, these factors influence the selection of the expected loss emergence patterns.
We select expected loss ratios by reserve cell, by accident year, based upon reviewing forecasted losses and indicated
ultimate loss ratios that are predicted from aggregated pricing statistics. Indicated ultimate loss ratios are calculated using the
selected loss emergence pattern, reported losses and earned premium. If the selected emergence pattern is not accurate, then the
indicated ultimate loss ratios may not be accurate, which can affect the selected loss ratios and hence the IBNR reserve. As with
selected loss emergence patterns, selecting expected loss ratios is not a strictly mechanical process and judgment is used in the
analysis of indicated ultimate loss ratios and department pricing loss ratios.
We estimate IBNR reserves by reserve cell, by accident year, using the expected loss emergence patterns and the expected
loss ratios. The expected loss emergence patterns and expected loss ratios are the critical IBNR reserving assumptions and are
updated annually. Once the annual IBNR reserves are determined, our actuaries calculate expected case loss emergence for the
upcoming calendar year. These calculations do not involve new assumptions and use the prior year-end expected loss
emergence patterns and expected loss ratios. The expected losses are then allocated into interim estimates that are compared to
actual reported losses in the subsequent year. This comparison provides a test of the adequacy of prior year-end IBNR reserves
and forms the basis for possibly changing IBNR reserve assumptions during the course of the year.
In 2013, our reported claims for prior years’ workers’ compensation losses were less than expected by $238 million.
However, further analysis of the workers’ compensation reserve cells by segment indicated the need for maintaining IBNR
reserves. These developments precipitated a net increase of $112 million in nominal IBNR reserve estimates for unreported
occurrences. After adjusting for the $126 million net increase in liabilities from changes in net reserve discounts during the year,
the net increase in workers’ compensation losses from prior years’ occurrences had a minimal impact on pre-tax earnings in
2013. To illustrate the sensitivity of changes in expected loss emergence patterns and expected loss ratios for our significant
excess-of-loss workers’ compensation reserve cells, an increase of ten points in the tail of the expected emergence pattern and
an increase of ten percent in the expected loss ratios would produce a net increase in our nominal IBNR reserves as of
December 31, 2013 of approximately $795 million and $441 million on a discounted basis. The increase in discounted reserves
would produce a corresponding decrease in pre-tax earnings. We believe it is reasonably possible for the tail of the expected
loss emergence patterns and expected loss ratios to increase at these rates.
Our other casualty and general liability reported losses (excluding mass tort losses) developed favorably in 2013 relative to
expectations. Casualty losses tend to be long-tail and it should not be assumed that favorable loss experience in a given year
means that loss reserve amounts currently established will continue to develop favorably. For our significant other casualty and
general liability reserve cells (including medical malpractice, umbrella, auto and general liability), an increase of five points in
the tails of the expected emergence patterns and an increase of five percent in expected loss ratios (one percent for large
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