FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     CONTACT:    Karen A. Horvath

Vice President - External

Financial Communications

(203) 629-3000

Greenwich, CT, January 24, 2024 - W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today reported its fourth quarter and full year 2023 results.

(1)Operating income is a non-GAAP financial measure defined by the Company as net income excluding after-tax net investment gains and related expenses.

(2)Return on equity and operating return on equity represent net income and operating income, respectively, expressed on an annualized basis as a percentage of beginning of year common stockholders’ equity.

Fourth quarter highlights included:

•Return on equity of 23.6%.

•Book value per share grew 11.6%, before dividends and share repurchases.

•Record net investment income of $313.3 million driven by 52.9% increase in the core portfolio.

•Net premiums written growth increased to 12.0%.

•The current accident year combined ratio before catastrophe losses of 1.2 loss ratio points was 87.2%.

•The reported combined ratio was 88.4%, including current accident year catastrophe losses of $32.0 million.

•Record pre-tax underwriting income grew 8.2% to $315.9 million.

•Average rate increases excluding workers' compensation were approximately 8.0%.

•Total capital returned to shareholders was $263.8 million, consisting of $106.7 million of share repurchases, $128.8 million of special dividends and $28.3 million of regular dividends.

Full year highlights included:

•Return on equity of 20.5%.

•Book value per share grew 25.5%, before dividends and share repurchases.

•Record annual pre-tax underwriting income of $1.1 billion.

•Gross and net premiums written grew 8.9% and 9.5% to records of $13.0 billion and $11.0 billion, respectively.

•Average rate increases excluding workers' compensation were approximately 8.1%.

•Net investment income grew 35.1% to a record $1.1 billion.

•Operating cash flow increased 14.0% to a record of $2.9 billion.

•Total capital returned to shareholders was $1.0 billion, consisting of $537.2 million of share repurchases, $390.0 million of special dividends and $111.4 million of regular dividends.

The Company commented:

Our Company completed another record-setting year in 2023, achieving a 23.6% annualized return on beginning equity in the fourth quarter. Our quarter and full year results were characterized by growth in net premiums written, along with record underwriting performance and net investment income. Book value per share grew 11.6% during the fourth quarter, before the return of $264 million of capital to shareholders through special and ordinary dividends and share repurchases.

Growth in net premiums written accelerated to 12% in the fourth quarter, as we deployed capital in areas of the business that we expect to achieve or exceed our targeted risk-adjusted return on equity. In a market where lines of business increasingly move independently from each other, our decentralized structure provides us with a competitive advantage that allows us to better navigate risks and embrace opportunities.

Net investment income from our fixed-maturity portfolio increased more than 50% during the quarter and 60% for the year as our portfolio grew and we (re)invested at higher interest rates. The current rates at which we can reinvest remains higher than our annual book yield, and record operating cash flow positions us well for future investment income growth.

Our Company performed exceptionally well during 2023, and we anticipate 2024 will continue to be rewarding for our shareholders. We view the current property and casualty insurance and investment environments as favorable to our business model. We are confident that we will continue to deliver superior long-term risk-adjusted returns and increase value to shareholders in 2024 and beyond.

Webcast Conference Call

    The Company will hold its quarterly conference call with analysts and investors to discuss its earnings and other information on January 24, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. eastern time. The conference call will be webcast live on the Company's website at https://ir.berkley.com/events-and-presentations/default.aspx. Please log on early to register. A replay of the webcast will be available on the Company's website approximately two hours after the end of the conference call. Additional financial information can be found on the Company's website at https://ir.berkley.com/investor-relations/financial-information/quarterly-results/default.aspx.

About W. R. Berkley Corporation

    Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates worldwide in two segments of the property casualty business: Insurance and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess.

Forward Looking Information

This is a “Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained herein, including statements related to our outlook for the industry and for our performance for the year 2024 and beyond, are based upon the Company’s historical performance and on current plans, estimates and expectations. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved. They are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to: the cyclical nature of the property casualty industry; the impact of significant competition, including new entrants to the industry; the long-tail and potentially volatile nature of the insurance and reinsurance business; product demand and pricing; claims development and the process of estimating reserves; investment risks, including those of our portfolio of fixed maturity securities and investments in equity securities, including investments in financial institutions, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed securities, loans receivable, investment funds, including real estate, merger arbitrage, energy related and private equity investments; the effects of emerging claim and coverage issues; the uncertain nature of damage theories and loss amounts, including claims for cyber security-related risks; natural and man-made catastrophic losses, including as a result of terrorist activities; the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, or other epidemics and pandemics; the impact of climate change, which may alter the frequency and increase the severity of catastrophe events; general economic and market activities, including inflation, interest rates, and volatility in the credit and capital markets; the impact of the conditions in the financial markets and the global economy, and the potential effect of legislative, regulatory, accounting or other initiatives taken in response to such conditions, on our results and financial condition; foreign currency and political risks relating to our international operations; our ability to attract and retain key personnel and qualified employees; continued availability of capital and financing; the success of our new ventures or acquisitions and the availability of other opportunities; the availability of reinsurance; our retention under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2019; the ability or willingness of our reinsurers to pay reinsurance recoverables owed to us; other legislative and regulatory developments, including those related to business practices in the insurance industry; credit risk related to our policyholders, independent agents and brokers; changes in the ratings assigned to us or our insurance company subsidiaries by rating agencies; the availability of dividends from our insurance company subsidiaries; cyber security breaches of our information technology systems and the information technology systems of our vendors and other third parties, or related processes and systems; the effectiveness of our controls to ensure compliance with guidelines, policies and legal and regulatory standards; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results for the year 2024 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement we make. Any projections of growth in our revenues would not necessarily result in commensurate levels of earnings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

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(1)Basic shares outstanding consist of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period (including shares held in a grantor trust). Diluted shares outstanding consist of the weighted average number of basic and common equivalent shares outstanding during the period.

(Amounts in thousands, except ratios) (1)

						Fourth Quarter												Twelve Months
						2023						2022						2023						2022
			Insurance:
			Gross premiums written			$	2,902,010					$	2,607,497					$	11,561,138					$	10,583,785
			Net premiums written			2,410,348						2,147,121						9,657,121						8,784,146
			Net premiums earned			2,382,621						2,207,057						9,130,324						8,369,062
			Pre-tax income			486,697						403,473						1,640,438						1,455,658
			Loss ratio			60.8		%				61.4		%				62.3		%				61.3		%
			Expense ratio			28.6		%				27.8		%				28.4		%				27.9		%
			GAAP Combined ratio			89.4		%				89.2		%				90.7		%				89.2		%
			Reinsurance & Monoline Excess:
			Gross premiums written			$	330,700					$	307,380					$	1,410,868					$	1,325,267
			Net premiums written			309,320						280,786						1,297,346						1,219,924
			Net premiums earned			331,993						306,167						1,270,363						1,192,367
			Pre-tax income			125,474						107,161						438,765						316,527
			Loss ratio			53.8		%				54.2		%				53.8		%				61.3		%
			Expense ratio			27.4		%				28.6		%				28.3		%				28.4		%
			GAAP Combined ratio			81.2		%				82.8		%				82.1		%				89.7		%
			Corporate and Eliminations:
			Net investment gains			$	7,804					$	75,098					$	47,042					$	202,397
			Interest expense			(31,879)						(31,902)						(127,459)						(130,374)
			Other expenses			(86,898)						(75,409)						(244,383)						(124,527)
			Pre-tax loss			(110,973)						(32,213)						(324,800)						(52,504)
			Consolidated:
			Gross premiums written			$	3,232,710					$	2,914,877					$	12,972,006					$	11,909,052
			Net premiums written			2,719,668						2,427,907						10,954,467						10,004,070
			Net premiums earned			2,714,614						2,513,224						10,400,687						9,561,429
			Pre-tax income			501,198						478,421						1,754,403						1,719,681
			Loss ratio			60.0		%				60.6		%				61.3		%				61.3		%
			Expense ratio			28.4		%				27.8		%				28.4		%				28.0		%
			GAAP Combined ratio			88.4		%				88.4		%				89.7		%				89.3		%

(1)Loss ratio is losses and loss expenses incurred expressed as a percentage of premiums earned. Expense ratio is underwriting expenses expressed as a percentage of premiums earned. GAAP combined ratio is the sum of the loss ratio and the expense ratio.

(Amounts in thousands)

						Fourth Quarter												Twelve Months
						2023						2022						2023						2022
Net premiums written:
Other liability						$	971,611					$	838,516					$	3,840,908					$	3,408,254
Short-tail lines (1)						527,074						431,528						2,099,684						1,749,926
Auto						351,934						308,746						1,397,585						1,257,659
Workers' compensation						290,203						281,070						1,228,058						1,221,804
Professional liability						269,526						287,261						1,090,886						1,146,503
Total Insurance						2,410,348						2,147,121						9,657,121						8,784,146
Casualty reinsurance						197,059						201,851						769,161						785,631
Property reinsurance						76,975						49,137						280,060						211,772
Monoline excess						35,286						29,798						248,125						222,521
Total Reinsurance & Monoline Excess						309,320						280,786						1,297,346						1,219,924
Total						$	2,719,668					$	2,427,907					$	10,954,467					$	10,004,070
Current accident year losses from catastrophes (including COVID-19 related losses):
Insurance						$	20,488					$	24,592					$	159,897					$	126,393
Reinsurance & Monoline Excess						11,529						6,253						35,065						85,317
Total						$	32,017					$	30,845					$	194,962					$	211,710
Net Investment income:
Core portfolio (2)						$	285,841					$	186,897					$	966,723					$	588,873
Investment funds						11,300						23,180						16,743						145,099
Arbitrage trading account						16,200						21,206						69,369						45,213
Total						$	313,341					$	231,283					$	1,052,835					$	779,185
Net realized and unrealized (losses) gains on investments:
Net realized (losses) gains on investments						$	(27,705)					$	(10,422)					$	(22,908)					$	217,943
Change in unrealized gains (losses) on equity securities						24,843						88,069						70,448						(632)
Total						$	(2,862)					$	77,647					$	47,540					$	217,311
Other operating costs and expenses:
Policy acquisition and insurance operating expenses						$	771,170					$	699,227					$	2,954,686					$	2,673,903
Insurance service expenses						21,379						25,071						91,714						96,419
Net foreign currency losses (gains)						33,577						34,130						31,799						(50,930)
Other costs and expenses						79,885						63,820						285,737						242,113
Total						$	906,011					$	822,248					$	3,363,936					$	2,961,505
Cash flow from operations						$	698,076					$	795,301					$	2,929,238					$	2,568,604
Reconciliation of net income to operating income:
Net income						$	397,340					$	382,223					$	1,381,359					$	1,381,062
Pre-tax investment gains, net of related expenses						(7,804)						(75,098)						(47,042)						(199,087)
Income tax expense						2,217						16,204						10,250						41,959
Operating income after-tax (3)						$	391,753					$	323,329					$	1,344,567					$	1,223,934

(1)Short-tail lines include commercial multi-peril (non-liability), inland marine, accident and health, fidelity and surety, boiler and machinery, high net worth homeowners and other lines.

(2)Core portfolio includes fixed maturity securities, equity securities, cash and cash equivalents, real estate and loans receivable.

(3)Operating income is a non-GAAP financial measure defined by the Company as net income excluding after-tax net investment gains (losses). Net investment gains (losses) are computed net of related expenses, including performance-based compensatory costs associated with realized investment gains. Management believes this measurement provides a useful indicator of trends in the Company’s underlying operations.

(1)Net invested assets include investments, cash and cash equivalents, trading accounts receivable from brokers and clearing organizations, trading account securities sold but not yet purchased and unsettled purchases, net of related liabilities.

(2)As of December 31, 2023, reflected in common stockholders' equity are after-tax unrealized investment losses of $586 million and unrealized currency translation losses of $340 million. As of December 31, 2022, after-tax unrealized investment losses were $893 million and unrealized currency translation losses were $372 million.

(3)During the twelve months ended December 31, 2023, the Company repurchased 8,707,676 shares of its common stock for $537.2 million. During the three months ended December 31, 2023, the Company repurchased 1,560,701 shares of its common stock for $106.7 million. The number of shares of common stock outstanding excludes shares held in a grantor trust.

(4)Book value per share is total common stockholders’ equity divided by the number of common shares outstanding. Tangible book value per share is total common stockholders’ equity excluding the after-tax value of goodwill and other intangible assets divided by the number of common shares outstanding.

(Amounts in thousands, except percentages)

(1)Total fixed maturity securities had an average rating of AA- and an average duration of 2.4 years, including cash and cash equivalents.

(2)Cash and cash equivalents includes trading accounts receivable from brokers and clearing organizations, trading account securities sold but not yet purchased and unsettled purchase.