W. R. Berkley Corporation, a commercial lines property and casualty insurer and reinsurer, has reported year-on-year net income growth of 39.8% for the third quarter of 2025 to $511 million, compared to $365.63 million last year.
The current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses of 2.5 loss ratio points was 88.4%, while the reported combined ratio was unchanged from the prior year at 90.9%, including current accident year catastrophe losses of $78.5 million.
W. R. Berkley reported net investment income of $351.2 million, driven by core portfolio increase of 9.4% for Q3’25, an increase from $323 million last year.
The firm’s return on equity for Q3’25 was 24.3%, with an operating return on equity of 21%.
Segment wise, the insurance business reported gross premiums written (GPW) of $3.4 billion in Q3’25 compared to $3.2 billion the year prior, with net premiums written (NPW) of $2.8 billion compared to $2.7 billion in Q3’24.
The reinsurance and monoline excess unit posted GPW of $443 million for Q3’25 compared to $414 million in Q3’24, with NPW of $417 million compared to $384 million in Q3’24.
For the first nine months of 2025, W. R. Berkley has reported GPW of approximately $11.5 billion, up from $10.7 billion in 2024, while NPW hit $9.7 billion, compared with $9.03 billion a year earlier.
Net income for 9M’25 totalled $1.3 billion compared to $1.2 billion for the first nine months of 2024.
W. R. Berkley management commented, “The Company delivered strong third quarter results highlighted by a 24.3% return on beginning of year shareholders’ equity, reflecting continued strength in both underwriting and investment income. Book value per share increased 5.8%, before dividends and share repurchases.
“Our decentralised structure and focus on specialty niche markets continue to differentiate us, enabling growth while maintaining rate adequacy and underwriting discipline. This approach resulted in another strong quarterly combined ratio of 90.9%.
“Fixed-maturity investment income increased 9.8% over the corresponding period of 2024. The Company’s new money rate continues to exceed the book yield of our fixed-maturity securities. The strength of our operating cash flow continues to grow our investable assets and will continue to make a positive contribution to investment income.
“Our disciplined underwriting, anchored in our focus on long-term risk-adjusted return, continues to drive superior performance across market cycles. We believe the Company remains well-positioned to create exceptional value for our shareholders throughout the remainder of 2025 and beyond.”
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