W. R. Berkley’s underwriting income grows 15% to $338m in Q4’25

Core Insights - W. R. Berkley Corporation achieved record pre-tax underwriting income growth of 14.9% to $338 million for Q4'25 and $1.2 billion for FY'25, indicating strong operational performance [1][6] Financial Performance - Gross written premiums (GWP) increased to $3.61 billion in Q4'25 from $3.5 billion, and for FY'25, GWP rose to $15.12 billion from $14.21 billion in 2024 [2] - Net premiums written for Q4'25 were $2.99 billion compared to $2.94 billion in Q4'24, and for FY'25, net premiums written were $12.71 billion compared to $11.97 billion in 2024 [2] Combined Ratio and Losses - The current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses was 87.9%, with a reported combined ratio of 89.4% for Q4'25 [3] - Total catastrophe losses were $47.6 million for Q4'25 and $336 million for FY'25, compared to $79.6 million and $297.6 million in 2024, respectively [3] Investment Income - Net investment income for Q4'25 was $338 million, with a record $1.42 billion for FY'25, compared to $317 million and $1.33 billion in 2024 [3] Net Income and Return on Equity - Net income for Q4'25 decreased to $449.5 million from $576.1 million, while FY'25 net income increased to $1.8 billion from $1.75 billion in 2024 [4] - Return on equity was 21.4% for Q4'25 and 21.2% for FY'25, with operating income growing to a record $1.7 billion [4] Segment Performance - The insurance business reported GWP of $3.25 billion in Q4'25 compared to $3.16 billion in the prior year, with NPW of $2.66 billion compared to $2.62 billion in Q4'24 [5] - The reinsurance and monoline excess unit posted GWP of $358 million for Q4'25 compared to $336 million in Q4'24, with NPW of $333 million compared to $316 million in Q4'24 [5] Shareholder Returns - The company repurchased over four million shares in 2025, including 2.9 million in Q4'25, and paid the largest special dividends in its history [8] - The focus remains on long-term value creation and disciplined capital return to shareholders as strong earnings generate excess capital [8]