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Founding Vision

While attending Harvard Business School, Bill Berkley and his partner formed Berkley Dean & Company—an investment management company that was the precursor to W. R. Berkley Corporation—with a $2,500 investment.

In the early 1970s, the Company entered various aspects of the insurance business and debuted as a public company. In 1972, the Company entered the insurance market through the acquisition of Houston General Insurance Company. In the early 1970s, the Company entered various aspects of the insurance business and debuted as a public company.

In 1973, the Union Insurance Company was organized in Nebraska, while Traders & General Insurance Company was acquired. The Company went public as W. R. Berkley Corporation on October 19, 1973, just hours before the Arab Oil Embargo was announced and late sold Traders & General Insurance Company while organizing Tri-State Insurance Company of Minnesota and acquiring Union Standard Insurance Company.

From the mid to late 1970s, the Company marked three important milestones. In 1975, W. R. Berkley Corporation instituted a policy of paying a regular cash dividend. That same year, the Company entered the reinsurance market by organizing Signet Reinsurance Company an acquiring Reinsurance Underwriters Corporation.

In 1979, the Company entered the specialty insurance market through the purchase of Admiral Insurance Company.

Growing its regional specialty

Through the early 1980s, the Company continued to grow its regional, specialty and reinsurance businesses, and added an insurance service provider to its portfolio of companies. In 1982, W. R. Berkley Corporation acquired Firemen’s Insurance Company of Washington, D.C., and later the hard market in 1985 and 1986 provided several opportunities to expand.

Excess and surplus on the rise

In 1985, Carolina Casualty Insurance Company was acquired, Firemen’s Habitational Division was established to write coverages to for high-end real estate in the northeast, Facultative ReSources was formed to write casualty facultative reinsurance, and Nautilus Insurance Company was formed to write smaller excess and surplus lines risks.

Risk management entry

Regional operations expanded in 1886 with the acquisition of Continental Western Insurance Company, and Clermont Specialty Managers was formed from the Firemen’s Habitational Division. The Company also entered the risk management and administration services sector by forming Berkley Risk Administrators Company.

By 1987, the Company’s total assets surpassed the $1 billion mark, total revenues exceeded the half-billion dollar level, and net worth rose above the one-quarter billion-dollar mark.

In the early 1990s, the Company continued to grow through both acquisition and the formation of new companies. It entered the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance business with the formation of Monitor Liability Managers. Acadia Insurance Company in Maine, Chesapeake Insurance Division of Firemen’s Insurance in Virginia, and Great River Insurance Company in Mississippi were all established to further expand the regional business.

The year 1994 marked additional milestones for W. R. Berkley Corporation. To bolster the services segment capabilities and add critical care capabilities, Key Risk Management Services was acquired. The Company also expanded overseas, through the purchase of 80% of Independencia Insurance Company of Argentina.

Revenues passed the $1 billion mark in 1995 as the Company continued to expand. Presque Isle, Berkley Surety Group, and Berkley Insurance Company of the Carolinas were all established, as was Vela Insurance Services, which writes contractor and liability coverage on an excess and surplus lines basis. New acquisitions included Midwest Employers Casualty Company and a controlling interest in La Union Gremail de Seguros S.A. in Argentina.

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At the turn of the century, the Company refined its strategy. The regional companies were consolidated to reduce costs, enhance size and scale, and to provide better competitive positions, while maintaining operations close to the customer. This segment was also repositioned to emphasize commercial lines of business and targeted niches, while withdrawing from personal lines. The Company’s reinsurance segment withdrew from commodity-type reinsurance, such as pro-rata and property lines, to focus on specialty businesses. It also formed Preferred Employers Insurance Company, which provides workers compensation coverage for small employers in California.

The Company reached a major milestone in 2001 when it moved the listing of W. R. Berkley Corporation common stock to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). In 2001, the Company entered into the medical malpractice market with the formation of Berkley Medical Excess Underwriters. Newly formed companies during these years included Berkley Underwriting Partners, Berkley Technology Services, Admiral Excess Underwriters, B F Re Underwriters to underwrite casualty facultative reinsurance on a direct basis, Berkley Risk Solutions to provide insurance and reinsurance financial solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities, and W. R. Berkley Insurance (Europe) Limited to write U.K. casualty risks.

In April 2024, W. R. Berkley Corporation joined the ranks of the Fortune 500 with $3.6 billion in revenue and $1.7 billion in stockholders’ equity at year-end 2003. Berkley Specialty Underwriting Managers was formed and the renewal rights to a specialty casualty book of business were acquired in 2004.

In 2005, the Company formed Berkley Accident and Health, Berkley Aviation, Berkley Net Underwriters, Berkley Regional Specialty Insurance Company, and Watch Hill Fac Management. The Company also further expanded overseas operations by forming Berkley Insurance Company Hong Kong Reinsurance Division, Berkley International do Brasil Seguros S. A. and W. R. Berkley Insurance (Europe), Limited, Sucursal en Espana.

In 2007, W. R. Berkley Corporation was named Best Managed Insurance Company by Forbes Magazine and set a new record during our 40th Anniversary year by earning $744 million. Total assets surpassed $16.8 billion, total revenues exceeded $5.5 billion and net worth reached $3.7 billion. Berkley Life Sciences, Berkley Select, and Berkley Re Australia were all formed in 2007, and the American Mining Insurance Company was acquired in the same year.

In recent years, the Company has continued to expand at an impressive pace, primarily through the creation of new businesses. In 2008, Berkley Asset Protection Underwriters, FinSecure, Berkley Canada, Berkley Professional Liability, and Berkley Offshore Underwriting Managers were all formed.

2009 saw the creation of Admiral Professional Programs, Berkley Agribusiness Risk Specialists, Gemini Transportation Underwriters, W. R. Berkley Syndicate 1967 at Lloyds, Berkley North Pacific Group and Berkley Oil & Gas Specialty Services.

Verus Underwriting Managers was formed in 2010.

Berkley Re UK Limited and Berkley Technology Underwriters were both created in 2011.

Berkley Public Entity Managers and Berkley Custom Insurance Managers were formed in 2012.

Berkley Southeast Insurance Group, Berkley Fire & Marine Underwriters, and Berkley Design Professional Underwriters were all formed in 2013.

In 2015, the Company announced that William R. Berkley would become executive chairman on October 31, 2015 and W. Robert Berkley, Jr. would assume the role of chief executive officer, continuing the transition plan implemented by the Board of Directors when Rob Berkley was named president and chief operating office in 2009. Berkley International Seguros Colombia, Berkley Construction Professional Liability Underwriters, and Berkley Global Product Recall Management were all formed in 2015. The Reinsurance-Global segment further expanded by establishing a global facultative property unit and creating a treaty unit dedicated to South Africa.

In 2016, the Company announced its entry into the high net worth personal lines market with Berkley One. It also formed Berkley Insurance Asia, Berkley Transactional, Berkley Cyber Risk Solutions and Intrepid Direct.

One April 17, 2017, the Company marked its 50th anniversary, having ended 2016 with $7.7 billion in revenue, more than $23 billion in total assets and $5 billion in stockholders’ equity. Berkley Environmental and Berkley Entertainment & Sports were established as independent operating units. The Company formed Berkley International Fianzas Mexico S.A. and Berkley International Seguros Mexico S.A.

The Company formed Berkley Healthcare. Berkley Select and Monitor Liability Managers were combined into one operating unit to provide a single entity for professional liability with superior expertise.

In December, W. R. Berkley Corporation was added to the S&P 500 with $7.9 billion in 2019 total revenues and $6.1 billion in stockholders’ equity at year-end 2019 [2018 stockholder’s equity was $5.4 billion]. In 2019, the Company formed Berkley Prime Transportation.

Lifson Re Ltd. was formed as a special purpose insurer registered in Bermuda and licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to participate alongside traditional reinsurers in a broad portfolio of property and casualty reinsurance treaties ceded by W. R. Berkley Corporations’s subsidiaries on a fully collateralized basis.

W. R. Berkley Corporation reached several new milestones, with record 2021 gross and net premiums written of $10.7 billion and $8.9 billion, respectively, as well as record full year underwriting income and net income of $845.3 million and $1.0 billion, respectively. In 2021, the Company formed Berkley Management Protection and Berkly Small Business Solutions.

Berkley reached a number of profitability milestones in 2022 with record pretax underwriting income of $10 Billion and record net income of $14 Billion. Berkley Construction Solutions was formed to provide excess liability insurance for contractors throughout the construction industry. In addition, Berkley E&S Solutions was founded to provide surplus lines casualty coverage to middle-market and large accounts and Berkley Enterprise Risk Solutions was created to provide workers compensation insurance to large businesses, headquartered in California.

During 2023, Berkley Specialty Excess was formed to offer excess liability coverages in specialized markets.

Union Standard Insurance Group was renamed Berkley Southwest to better reflect the business’s commitment to serving the diverse needs of clients and partners with even greater efficiency, innovation, and care in the U.S. Southwest. Established a branch office of Berkley Insurance Company in India, making a significant milestone for Berkley Insurance Asia as it continues to expand its presence in the region.

Established Berkley Edge to focus on hard-to-place and distressed risks for small and mid-sized businesses exclusively through wholesale brokers. Formed Berkley Embedded Solutions to deliver tailored insurance products and services to customers at the point of purchase, bringing together the best of modern technology, purpose-built digital-first insurance products, and complementary services with Berkley’s strong underwriting culture and reach.