WR Berkley Q1 combined ratio worsens to 90.9% as cat losses rise to $111 million

By Michael Loney

April 21 - (The Insurer) – WR Berkley has reported a 2.1 point deterioration in its combined ratio to 90.9% in the first quarter, while net premiums increased 10% to a record $3.13 billion.

• Operating EPS of $1.01 beats $0.98 consensus, down from $1.04 in Q1 2024

• Combined ratio worsens to 90.9% in this year’s first quarter, from 88.8%

• Q1 2025 includes $111.1 million in CAY cat losses ($30.5 million prior-year period)

• NPW and GPW both up 10% to $3.13 billion and $3.68 billion, respectively

• 8.3% Q1 average rate increases ex compensation compared with 7.9% in Q4 2024

WR Berkley reported operating income of $404.7 million for the quarter, down from $423.3 million in the first quarter of 2024.

Operating income per share of $1.01 beat the $0.98 consensus estimate of 20 analysts as per MarketWatch, and was down from $1.04 in Q1 2024.

The firm's reported combined ratio was 90.9% for the first quarter, including current accident year catastrophe losses of $111.1 million.

This was a deterioration from the 88.8% combined ratio in the first quarter of last year, which included catastrophe losses of $30.5 million.

The current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses of 3.7 loss ratio points was 87.2% in this year’s first quarter, compared with figures of 1.1 points and 87.7% in Q1 2024.

WR Berkley recorded record net premiums written of $3.13 billion in the quarter, up from $2.85 billion in the first quarter of 2024. Gross premiums grew to $3.68 billion from $3.36 billion.

Insurance net premiums grew to $2.69 billion from $2.45 billion, while reinsurance monoline excess net premiums written grew to $438.9 million from $405.6 million.

WR Berkley said that its average rate increases excluding workers' compensation were 8.3% in this year’s first quarter. This compared with 7.9% in Q4 2024.

“We achieved strong results in the first quarter of 2025 with a 19.9% annualized return on beginning-of-year common stockholders' equity, despite significant first-quarter industry-wide catastrophe losses,” the company commented.

It added: “Net premiums written grew 10% as market conditions remained favorable in many lines of business, particularly in our insurance segment.”