Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, a Boston-based unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said Thursday that it is expanding its underwriting capabilities to address the risks of the life sciences industry.
In a press release, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, or BHSI, said that it is “targeting a range of life sciences product liability risks, including medical devices, nutraceuticals, generic pharmaceuticals, compounding pharmacies, and clinical trials.”
The company added that John Parente will head its life sciences efforts. He comes to BHSI from Lexington Insurance Co.
‘‘Our expansion into life sciences reflects BHSI’s strategy of pairing our sound capacity with proven expertise to address the needs of the marketplace,” Mike Foley, a BHSI senior vice president, said in a statement. “With his extensive life sciences background and substantial technical underwriting experience, John is well equipped to lead our efforts in this dynamic industry segment.”
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In June 2013, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway announced in a press release that BHSI, its recently formed commercial property casualty insurance group, had commenced operations, underwriting property, casualty, professional, and executive liability insurance for customers in the US.
That release included a statement from Berkshire Hathaway chief executive Warren E. Buffett, who said then: “It’s official. We are moving into commercial insurance in a substantial way, and we are here to stay.”
Berkshire Hathaway and its subsidiaries engage in such activities as property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, utilities and energy, freight rail transportation, finance, manufacturing, retailing, and services.
Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com.