W.R. Berkley Corp. reported a 26 percent increase in third-quarter profits despite a 56 percent rise in catastrophe losses.
The Greenwich, Conn.-based commercial lines insurer reported $122.5 million in profit on revenue of $1.27 billion, compared with $97 million profit on revenues of $1.14 billion in the same period last year.
The company also reported $1.13 billion in net premiums earned, up from $1.03 billion in the third quarter last year.
Net investment income rose to $107.5 million from $71.7 million last year.
The company's combined ratio for the third quarter was 92.1, compared with 91.9 for the same period last year.
The company said it suffered hurricane losses of $50 million on a pretax basis, up 56 percent from the comparable year-ago period.
William Berkley, the company's chairman, said that prior to this year's hurricanes he expected some price softening that would lead to modest growth. "We now anticipate these recent events will bring about greater industry focus on profitability and concomitant underwriting discipline in most lines," he said.
Mr. Berkley said he expects the company to deliver returns in excess of 15 percent for the next several years.
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