AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of W. R. Berkley Corporation and Its Subsidiaries
AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of "a-" (Excellent) of W. R. Berkley Corporation (W. R. Berkley) (Greenwich, CT) (NYSE:WRB) and all associated Long-Term Issue Ratings (Long-Term IRs) and indicative Long-Term IRs for securities issued by W. R. Berkley. At the same time, AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICRs of "aa-" (Superior) of Berkley Insurance Company (Wilmington, DE) and its reinsured subsidiaries and affiliates, collectively referred to as W. R. Berkley Insurance Group (Berkley Group). AM Best also has affirmed the FSR of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICR of "aa-" (Superior) of Berkley Life and Health Insurance Company (Berkley Life and Health) (Urbandale, IA). The outlook of the FSR is stable while the outlook of the Long-Term ICR is positive. (See below for a detailed list of the companies and ratings.)
The positive outlook for the Long-Term ICR reflects the Berkley Group's favorable operating performance and balance sheet metrics. Berkley Group has grown its GAAP surplus organically over the most recent 10-year period. Additionally, Berkley Group has improved its financial leverage.
The Credit Ratings (ratings) of the Berkley Group reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its strong operating performance, favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).
Berkley Group's balance sheet strength assessment is anchored by its risk-adjusted capitalization consistently being at the strongest level, as measured by Best's Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). Debt leverage has trended downward over the past five years and was 19.1%, adjusted as of year-end 2024. The group's interest coverage and liquidity metrics remain strong. Berkley Group effectively maintains a diversified investment portfolio to support its liabilities and is focused on creating the most favorable return while maintaining its risk tolerance levels.
The group continues to maintain its favorable market share in its core lines of business, as well as continuing to grow organically through new businesses and opportunities. The group's historically consistent operating results and profitability metrics point to agile underwriting and pricing discipline, as well as effective risk management expertise. Berkley Group reported net premium growth across most of its core business in the first quarter of 2025, with a GAAP return-on-equity (ROE) ratio of 19.9% and GAAP operating ROE of 19.3%. Berkley Group's effective ERM practices and risk-modeling capabilities are supportive of its current investment and operational risks as demonstrated by its lack of volatility in its financial results and the enterprise's overall capitalization.
The ratings of Berkley Life and Health reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strongest, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate ERM. The ratings also reflect the financial and operational support of the parent company.
Berkley Life and Health's balance sheet strength assessment is supported by its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by BCAR. Despite paying a $75 million dividend to its parent in 2024, the company still maintained its BCAR in the strongest assessment level while reporting favorable liquidity ratios and positive cash flow at year-end 2024. It continues to maintain a conservative, high-quality investment portfolio consisting of fixed-income securities and cash & short-term investments.
Berkley Life and Health has grown net premium annually over the last five years driven by new and renewal sales of its group captive and medical stop-loss products. Except for 2024, the company has reported increasing net underwriting income annually during this period, with slightly lower net underwriting income reported at year-end 2024.
While Berkley Life and Health is a leader in the group captive market and maintains a niche in the small group medical stop-loss space, it operates in a highly competitive medical stop-loss market dominated by larger national insurers. The company benefits from explicit and implicit support provided by W. R. Berkley, and is fully integrated into the parent's strategy, operations and ERM.
The FSR of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term ICRs of "aa-" (Superior) have been affirmed, with a stable outlook for the FSR and positive outlooks for the Long-Term ICRs for the following members of W. R. Berkley Insurance Group:
- Acadia Insurance Company
- Admiral Indemnity Company
- Admiral Insurance Company
- Berkley Casualty Company
- Berkley Assurance Company
- Berkley Insurance Company
- Berkley National Insurance Company
- Berkley Prestige Insurance Company
- Berkley Regional Insurance Company
- Berkley Specialty Insurance Company
- Carolina Casualty Insurance Company
- Clermont Insurance Company
- Continental Western Insurance Company
- Firemen's Insurance Company of Washington, D.C.
- Gemini Insurance Company
- Great Divide Insurance Company
- Intrepid Casualty Company
- Intrepid Insurance Company
- Intrepid Specialty Insurance Company
- Key Risk Insurance Company
- Midwest Employers Casualty Company
- Nautilus Insurance Company
- Preferred Employers Insurance Company
- Queen's Island Insurance Company, Ltd.
- Riverport Insurance Company
- StarNet Insurance Company
- Tri-State Insurance Company of Minnesota
- Union Insurance Company
- Union Standard Lloyds
- W. R. Berkley Europe AG
- Berkley International Seguros Mexico S.A.
- Berkley International Compania de Garantias Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed with positive outlooks:
W. R. Berkley Corporation—
-- "a-" (Excellent) on $250 million, 6.25% senior unsecured notes, due 2037
-- "a-" (Excellent) on $350 million, 4.75% senior unsecured notes, due 2044
-- "a-" (Excellent) on 470 million, 4.0% senior unsecured notes, due 2050
-- "a-" (Excellent) on $400 million, 3.55% senior unsecured notes, due 2052
-- "a-" (Excellent) on $350 million, 3.15% senior unsecured notes, due 2061
-- "bbb+" (Good) on $185 million, 5.7% subordinated debentures, due 2058
-- "bbb+" (Good) on $300 million, 5.1% subordinated debentures, due 2059
-- "bbb+" (Good) on $250 million, 4.25% subordinated debentures, due 2060
-- "bbb+" (Good) on $300 million, 4.125% subordinated debentures, due 2061
The following indicative Long-Term IRs under the shelf registration have been affirmed with positive outlooks:
W. R. Berkley Corporation—
-- "a-" (Excellent) on senior unsecured debt
-- "bbb+" (Good) on subordinated debt
-- "bbb" (Good) on preferred stock
W. R. Berkley Capital Trust III—
-- "bbb" (Good) on preferred securities
This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best's website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best's Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best's Credit Ratings, Best's Performance Assessments, Best's Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best's Ratings & Assessments.
AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.
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Elizabeth Blamble
Senior Financial Analyst
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Brian Virostek
Financial Analyst
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Christopher Sharkey
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Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist
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