GEICO sees increase in collision claims in first six months of 2026
Berkshire Hathaway reports that the frequency of GEICO private passenger auto claims for property damages and collision coverages increased by 3% to 5% in the first six months of 2026, in comparison to last year.
The auto insurer saw its pre-tax underwriting earnings fall about 45%, from $1.82 billion in earnings for the same time period in 2025, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing states.
The frequency of auto claims for bodily injury increased 5% to 7% during the first six months of 2026. It adds that severity for the bodily injury claims increased within the 10-12% range during the period.
In comparison, property and collision coverage severity increased within the 0-3% range, compared to 2025.
Underwriting expenses increased $355 million, about 27.3% in the second quarter and $693 million (28.3%) in the first six months, the document says.
While GEICO’s loss ratio increased 4.9% in the first six months of 2026, it remained significantly low at 76.6% by the end of Q2.
“Berkshire’s filing reflects a broader trend in the insurance industry where bodily injury claims have surpassed auto physical damage payouts for the first time in history,” Forbes writes.
The article points to CCC data showing bodily injury claims are up 11% over the past two years, with the cost increasing 10.3% last year and 32% over the past three years.
After GEICO saw massive earnings increases in 2024, Warren Buffett, chairman and former CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, called the company a “long-held gem that needed major repolishing.”
Hathaway said at the time that the P&C insurance industry continued as his core business.
Auto insurance companies have seen years of premium increases, at times in the double digits in some states, which brought record-breaking profits, including low loss ratios, for many of the large insurance companies in 2025.
Insurance premium increases have modestly increased in 2026, up about 1% since the end of 2025, according to a recent Insurify study.
The report states that 32 states will likely see rate increases in the second half of the year, with the highest increases in the 3-4% range.
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