Markel profit jumps following underwriting gains

Markel posted a 25 percent jump in second quarter operating
profit as its international insurance segment swung to a $32mn
underwriting gain from a loss of almost $1mn a year earlier.
The company, which also announced today that it bought a
majority stake in an industrial farm for an estimated $255mn, said
its combined (re)insurance operations produced an underwriting
profit of $110.6mn in the quarter.
This was an increase of 74 percent on the same period a year
earlier, as...