Advertise
Resources
Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
W.R. Berkley Corp.’s net income for the fourth quarter of 2013 dropped 21.2% from the same period a year earlier to $130.4 million, the Greenwich, Conn.-based insurer reported Tuesday.
Net written premiums in the fourth quarter increased 10.6% to $1.36 billion from the same period a year earlier. The insurer’s fourth-quarter combined ratio improved to 95.1% from 98.1% during the last three months of 2012.
For 2013 as a whole, Berkley registered net income of $499.9 million, down 2.1% from that of 2012. Berkley’s net written premiums for 2013 rose 12.2% from those in 2012.
The insurer’s combined ratio for the year improved to 95.1% in 2013, compared with 97.2% in 2012.
“We were pleased with our fourth-quarter results,” Chairman and CEO William R. Berkley said in a statement.
“Net written premiums were up 11% and the company’s combined ratio improved. Price increases are outpacing loss cost trends, and although the fourth-quarter rate increases were not as strong as the full year, margins have expanded further,” he said in the statement.
“We are beginning to make headway on our expense ratio, and anticipate additional improvement in both our overall underwriting results and our combined ratio in 2014,” he said.
He said Berkley remains focused on increasing prices “to maintain current margins and regain targeted profitability in some currently lagging lines of business. The challenge that our industry faces is the threat of inflation, which impacts pricing as well as adequate reserving.”