May 3 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett spoke at a press conference:
* Warren Buffett Says Berkshire Hathaway Inc taking less insurance risk than a couple of years ago because it has less excess capital than before
* Warren Buffett Says Berkshire would consider writing insurance policies that would pay off if U.S. mortality rate in 2010 was more than 125 percent of normal, if it was paid enough for the risk
* Warren Buffett says if insurance policy were written for a pandemic, it could cover an additional 600,000 U.S. deaths in a single year
* Warren Buffett says 'you could get US to quote a policy on the present potential pandemic,' although 'you may not like' the amount Berkshire would charge
* Warren Buffett on financial crisis: 'the most important lesson is that the world needs a whole lot less leverage'
* Warren Buffett Says 'A lot of large financial institutions really had very improper incentives' to boost leverage
(New York Equities Desk; tel: +1 646 223 6000) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
* Warren Buffett Says Berkshire Hathaway Inc taking less insurance risk than a couple of years ago because it has less excess capital than before
* Warren Buffett Says Berkshire would consider writing insurance policies that would pay off if U.S. mortality rate in 2010 was more than 125 percent of normal, if it was paid enough for the risk
* Warren Buffett says if insurance policy were written for a pandemic, it could cover an additional 600,000 U.S. deaths in a single year
* Warren Buffett says 'you could get US to quote a policy on the present potential pandemic,' although 'you may not like' the amount Berkshire would charge
* Warren Buffett on financial crisis: 'the most important lesson is that the world needs a whole lot less leverage'
* Warren Buffett Says 'A lot of large financial institutions really had very improper incentives' to boost leverage
(New York Equities Desk; tel: +1 646 223 6000) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.