Jain from Berkshire says geico has done “fast steps”

Of Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – The Berkshire Hathaway Geico Car Insurance Unit has advanced in updating its technology to improve risk rates, said Berkshire Vice President Ajit Jain on Saturday.

Jain, who has a daily supervision of Berkshire’s insurance operations, spoke at the conglomerate’s annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, where he, President Warren Buffett and Vice President Greg Abel, asked the shareholders.

Geico registered substantially improved in 2024, as he stopped his appetite to broadcast new policies while reducing the percentage of premiums he used to pay accident claims.

The Vice President said that Geico has taken “fast steps on the telematic” and now “it is as good as any.” Jain praised Geico’s CEO, Todd Combs, to reduce the company’s workforce. Geico reduced more than 2,300 jobs last year.

“All this has allowed Geico to become a more focused competitor,” he said, adding that it is not too early to say “a mission made. We have achieved a lot, but we have to do much more.”

At the annual meeting of Berkshire 2023, Jain regretted that Geico was behind the telematic curve, where devices installed in vehicles allow insurers to control the behavior including speed, braking, mileage and distracted driving, including cellphone consumption.

Insurers can reward safe drivers with discounts and pricing policies properly for other drivers.

At that time, at the Berkshire’s annual meeting, Jain regretted that Geico was “still behind”, but he waited at the end of 2025 to catch rivals in data analytics, including risk prices, although Geico still enjoyed lower operating costs than “virtually no one.”

(Report by Jonathan Sumpel, in Omaha, and additional reports of Suzanne McGEE; Edition of Diane Craft)