Why Buffett's Berkshire Doesn't Pay Dividends But Insurance Stocks Do

Buffett just announced Berkshire Hathaway hit a record $157B cash pile—but here’s the twist: zero dividends. Instead, he’s betting on insurance float, which has grown 8,000x since buying National Indemnity in 1967 for $8.6M.

The play? Insurers collect premiums upfront, then invest that cash (called float) before paying claims. Berkshire’s insurance float alone ballooned from $147B to $164B last year, and its insurance arm churned out $2.4B in Q3 profit.

Geico (Berkshire’s subsidiary) led the charge—jacked rates up 17% and trimmed policies by 13%, flipping the script from a $1.1B loss in Q3 2022.

Not interested in Berkshire’s zero-dividend strategy? These 5 dividend-paying insurance stocks might hit different:

Marsh & McLennan (MMC) – Market cap $96B, up 17.4% YTD, dividend yield 1.46%. Offers insurance + consulting services.

Progressive (PGR) – Just dethroned Geico as America’s #2 auto insurer. Up 21.3% YTD, yield 0.25%.

Chubb (CB) – Down 0.71% YTD but operates across 55 countries with $89B market cap. Yield 1.57%.

Aon (AON) – Chicago-based, up 8.4% YTD with roots going back to 1918. Yield 0.76%.

Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) – The real performer: up 30% since January. Insiders just dumped $1M+ into their own stock last week. Yield 0.91%.