NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway may make a bid for General Electric Co.'s Employers Reinsurance Corp., according to a published report Monday.

GE's reinsurance unit, which underwrites policies from other insurance firms, has been hit with losses due to increased claims. It posted a loss of $156 million in the third quarter and expects to report a loss of $350 million to $450 million for the full year, according to the online edition of the Wall Street Journal.

Some analysts think the company indicated the unit was going up for sale after General Electric CEO Jeffery Immelt said that he will reposition several of the company's businesses for value, including Employers Reinsurance, the paper reported.

Berkshire, which is the world's largest reinsurance firm, has made informal and preliminary inquiries about a potential purchase, according to the Journal.

Price is one obstacle facing the sale of the GE unit. Buffett offered less than the $8 billion that GE is looking for and has questioned whether the unit has sufficient loss reserves, according to the Bloomberg news wire.

GE boosted Employers Reinsurance's reserves by $900 million before taxes through the third quarter, the Journal reported.

A GE spokesman declined to comment to the paper and Berkshire Hathaway didn't return phone calls.