W. R. Berkley Corporation has published its third-quarter earnings release, and the figures below are those reported by the company. It reported “Return on equity of 18.4% and operating return on equity of 18.8%.”
The release also gives the company’s account of operating earnings, underwriting results, premium growth, investment income and capital returned to shareholders.
Operating Income and Returns Reported by the Insurer
In its third-quarter earnings release, the company stated: “Operating income of $456.5 million grew 6.4% on a per share basis to $1.17.”
W. Robert Berkley, Jr., chairman, CEO and president, commented on the result in the same release. He said: “The Company delivered another excellent quarter, generating an annualized 18.8% operating return on beginning-of-year stockholders’ equity.”
Insurance Segment Underwriting and Premium Growth
On underwriting, the release states: “Pre-tax underwriting income for the Insurance segment grew 10.6% to $237.7 million.”
On premiums, the company wrote: “Gross and net premiums written for the Insurance segment grew 4.9% and 3.2%, respectively.”
On pricing, the release states: “Average rate increases excluding workers’ compensation were approximately 4.0%.”
On loss experience, the company reported: “The current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses of 2.7 loss ratio points was 88.1% and reported combined ratio was 90.8%.”
Mr. Berkley commented on the underwriting result in the release. He said: “Our long-term view and disciplined approach produced a strong 88.1% accident year combined ratio, excluding catastrophe losses.”
Net Investment Income and Portfolio Credit Quality
The earnings release describes investment results in these terms: “Net investment income grew to $383.5 million driven by core portfolio increase of 12.0%.”
Mr. Berkley gave further detail on fixed-maturity holdings. He said: “Income from fixed-maturity securities increased 10.3% over the corresponding period a year ago.”
On the portfolio itself, Mr. Berkley said: “The credit quality of our portfolio remains excellent, with an average strong AA- rating, and reinvestment yields continue to meaningfully exceed our portfolio’s book yield.”
Share Repurchases and Capital Returned to Shareholders
On capital return, Mr. Berkley said: “We returned a total of $728.6 million to shareholders year-to-date, which includes $435.1 million of share repurchases, while preserving substantial flexibility to support future opportunities.”
In its release, the company gives repurchase detail for two periods. For the nine-month period it states: “During the nine months ended September 30, 2026, the Company repurchased 6,465,878 shares of its common stock for $435.1 million.” For the three-month period it states: “During the three months ended September 30, 2026, the Company repurchased 309,508 shares of its common stock for $21.1 million.”
Management Commentary on Specialty Breadth
Mr. Berkley also addressed the company’s product mix. He said: “As the cycles for various product lines have decoupled, the breadth of our offering through our 60 specialty businesses allows for greater stability.”
The company’s description of itself in the release reads in part: “Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates worldwide in two segments of the property casualty business”. InsuraBeat has separate coverage of the Travelers third-quarter filing and of the Marsh third-quarter results.
