W.R. Berkley’s Q3 Net Income Rises 37% to $189M

W.R. Berkley Corp. posted $188.54 million net income for its 2014 third quarter, a 37.7 percent increase from $136.97 million net income reported a year ago.

The Greenwich, Connecticut-based insurer’s net premiums written for the third quarter were $1.525 billion, a 7.1 percent increase from $1.424 billion one year ago.

The consolidated GAAP combined ratio for the third quarter was 93.5, improving from 93.9 one year ago.

Net investment gains for the quarter were $72.26 million, up 64.7 percent from $43.87 million a year ago.

“We are pleased with our third-quarter results. Our underwriting continued to perform well, while investment income and capital gains were especially strong as a result of our long-term investment strategy,” said William R. Berkley, chairman and chief executive officer.

Berkley said market conditions continued to vary by product and class of business and that his company is expanding market positions in places where the company believes underwriting margins are more attractive. “In other places, we chose not to grow. Underwriting results also benefited from our ongoing efforts to further reduce the expense ratio,” he said.

“The improvement in both investment income and capital gains was led by the performance of our investment funds, which as we have suggested, may vary quarter over quarter. Over the long term, we expect a moderate level of capital gains to continue,” said Berkley.

“Overall, we were pleased with the 17.4 percent return on equity for the quarter and anticipate being able to exceed our target return for the full year. We continue to be positive as we look to the future,” he said.