Insurer W.R. Berkley reports 14% drop in nine-month net income

GREENWICH, Conn.—W.R. Berkley Corp.’s net income dropped 14.1% to $276.9 million for the first nine months of the year compared with the same period a year earlier, the insurer announced this week.

The drop reflected a 17.4% decline in third-quarter net income, which fell to $77.3 million.

Greenwich, Conn.-based Berkley’s investment income for the nine-month period increased 224.1% to $73.4 million.

Gross written premiums rose 13.7% to $3.82 billion for the first nine months. Berkley’s combined ratio deteriorated to 98.8% from 94.7%.

For the third quarter, gross written premiums increased 16.5% to $1.31 billion and the combined ratio deteriorated to 99.1% from 95.4% during the same period in 2010.

“We are pleased with our third-quarter results, especially given the level of catastrophe activity, the difficult economic environment and historically low interest rates,” said William R. Berkley, chairman and CEO, in a statement.