The widening insurance-industry scandal has reached legendary investor Warren Buffett, long-regarded as an icon of integrity in corporate America. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway empire revealed yesterday that securities regulators have requested information from its General Re unit about insurance policies that might be used to smooth out earnings volatility. The SEC request is part of an industry-wide examination of such products — called finite or loss-mitigation insurance — that have come into widespread use over the last decade. Regulators are wondering whether such products are less insurance and more a tool to help companies mask losses. Berkshire, based in Omaha,...