英文早读第201篇，选自巴菲特年度信，友才翻译。
Insurance Underwriting
保险承保
Our insurance operation continued to grow significantly in 1977. It was early in 1967 that we made our entry into this industry through the purchase of National Indemnity Company and National Fire and Marine Insurance Company (sister companies) for approximately 8.6 million. In that year their premium volume amounted to 22 million. In 1977 our aggregate insurance premium volume was 151 million. No additional shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock have been issued to achieve any of this growth.
1977年，我们的保险业务继续显著增长。1967年初，我们通过以约860万美元收购国民赔偿公司和国民火灾与海运保险公司（二者为姊妹公司）进入这一行业。当年，它们的保费收入总计2200万美元。1977年，我们的保险保费总收入达到1.51亿美元。而实现这所有增长过程中，伯克希尔哈撒韦公司并未增发任何股份。
Rather, this almost 600% increase has been achieved through large gains in National Indemnity’s traditional liability areas plus the starting of new companies (Cornhusker Casualty Company in 1970, Lakeland Fire and Casualty Company in 1971, Texas United Insurance Company in 1972, The Insurance Company of Iowa in 1973, and Kansas Fire and Casualty Company in late 1977), the purchase for cash of other insurance companies (Home and Automobile Insurance Company in 1971, Kerkling Reinsurance Corporation, now named Central Fire and Casualty Company, in 1976, and Cypress Insurance Company at yearend 1977), and finally through the marketing of additional products, most significantly reinsurance, within the National Indemnity Company corporate structure.
确切地说，这近600%的增长是通过多种途径实现的。在国民赔偿公司传统的责任险领域取得了大幅增长，同时创立了新公司（1970年成立了内布拉斯克恩豪斯可意外保险公司，1971年成立了莱克兰火灾与意外保险公司，1972年成立了得克萨斯联合保险公司，1973年成立了爱荷华保险公司，1977年末成立了堪萨斯火灾与意外保险公司；以现金收购了其他保险公司（1971年收购了家庭与汽车保险公司，1976年收购了克尔克林再保险公司（现名为中央火灾与意外保险公司），1977年末收购了赛普拉斯保险公司；最后，在国民赔偿公司的企业架构内，通过推广更多产品，尤其是再保险业务实现增长。
In aggregate, the insurance business has worked out very well. But it hasn’t been a one‐way street. Some major mistakes have been made during the decade, both in products and personnel. We experienced significant problems from (1) a surety operation initiated in 1969, (2) the 1973 expansion of Home and Automobile’s urban auto marketing into the Miami, Florida area, (3) a still unresolved aviation “fronting” arrangement, and (4) our Worker’s Compensation operation in California, which we believe retains an interesting potential upon completion of a reorganization now in progress. It is comforting to be in a business where some mistakes can be made and yet a quite satisfactory overall performance can be achieved. In a sense, this is the opposite case from our textile business where even very good management probably can average only modest results. One of the lessons your management has learned ‐ and, unfortunately, sometimes re‐learned‐is the importance of being in businesses where tailwinds prevail rather than headwinds.
总体而言，保险业务发展得非常好。但这并非一帆风顺。在过去十年里，我们在产品和人员方面都犯了一些重大错误。我们遇到了一些严重问题：（1），1969年开展的担保业务；（2），1973年家庭与汽车保险公司将城市汽车保险业务拓展至佛罗里达州迈阿密地区；（3），一项至今仍未解决的航空 “代出单” 安排；（4），我们在加利福尼亚州的工伤保险业务，不过我们认为，随着目前正在进行的重组完成，该业务仍有可观的潜力。好在身处保险行业，即便犯了一些错误，整体业绩仍能令人满意。从某种意义上说，这与我们的纺织业务恰恰相反，在纺织业，即便管理十分出色，可能也只能取得一般的成绩。你们的管理层学到的一个教训——不幸的是，有时还得重新学习——就是处于顺境行业而非逆境行业的重要性。
