WR Berkley

Sources said it is still unclear if the specialty insurer will exit the class permanently or if it will return to the market in the foreseeable future.

Jay Weber succeeds Dennis Barger, who was appointed as chairman of the business, effective immediately.

Yesterday, the specialty insurer recorded Q1 $1 operating earnings per share, missing analyst estimates of $1.23 per share.

The specialty insurer booked $47.9mn of cat losses – or 1.9 points on its CoR – in Q1 and one point of unfavorable reserve development mostly related to property cat losses.

An industry veteran with nearly 20 years of experience, Albert served as executive vice president of strategy and business development at Selective.

The latest statutory data release shows commercial carriers continued to benefit from the extended pricing cycle and exposure growth propelled by inflation, although growth slowed year-on-year.

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Speaking on the company's Q4 conference call, the executive said the market should not assume that WRB will become a heavy cat-exposed writer.

Operating EPS for the quarter jumped 13.7% from Q4 2021 to $1.16, beating analyst consensus of $1.10 per share.

Inside P&C Research examines E&S sector growth over the past year and revisits historic trends.

With the election, WR Berkley increased the number of board members to ten and independent directors to eight.

Inside P&C’s news team runs you through the key highlights of the week.