Markel Corporation

Company Name

Markel Corporation

Stock Symbol

MKL

Class Period

July 26, 2017 to December 6, 2018

Motion Deadline

March 12, 2019

Court

Southern District of New York

The complaint charges Markel and certain of its current and former officers with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Markel is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries, markets and underwrites specialty insurance products and programs.

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company’s business, operations and accounting practices.  Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that the Company’s subsidiaries did not appropriately record loss reserves, and that, as a consequence, the loss reserves would need to be adjusted and/or restated, and the Company would be subject to increased regulatory scrutiny.  As a result of this information being withheld from the market, Markel securities traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, with the Company’s stock reaching a high of more than $1,200 per share.

Then on December 6, 2018, the Company disclosed that “after having been contacted on November 30, 2018, it is fully cooperating with inquiries by US and Bermuda authorities into loss reserves recorded in late 2017 and early 2018 at Markel CATCo Investment Management Ltd and its subsidiaries.”  On this news, the Company’s share price fell $99.70 per share, or more than 8%, to close at $1048.23 per share on December 7, 2018.