AM Best upgrades W. R. Berkley and subsidiaries ratings, revises outlooks to stable

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AM Best upgrades Berkley ratings

Highlights

AM Best upgrades W. R. Berkley Corporation's Long-Term ICR to 'a' and insurance subsidiaries' Long-Term ICRs to 'aa', revising ICR outlooks to stable.
Berkley Group achieves GAAP return on equity of 22.1% and return on revenue of 16.5% in Q1 2026, driven by strong underwriting and risk management.
Berkley Life and Health posts 14.1% compound annual net premium growth over five years, maintains strongest risk-adjusted capitalization and conservative fixed-income portfolio.

Rating actions across insurance units

As reported by AM Best, the agency upgrades the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of W. R. Berkley Corporation to “a” from “a-”, while raising the Long-Term ICRs of Berkley Insurance Company and Berkley Life and Health Insurance Company to “aa” from “aa-”. It also affirms the Financial Strength Rating of A+ for the insurance entities and revises the Long-Term ICR outlooks to stable from positive, while the FSR outlooks remain stable.

The agency says the Berkley Group’s ratings reflect balance sheet strength assessed at the strongest level, alongside strong operating performance, a favorable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. It links the upgrade to stronger balance sheet fundamentals, supported by underwriting results, a robust investment portfolio, consistent organic surplus growth over the most recent 10-year period and strong debt leverage metrics.

AM Best says risk-adjusted capitalization remains anchored at the strongest level under Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio, while debt leverage trends downward over the last five years and stands at 22.6, unadjusted, at year-end 2025. Interest coverage, liquidity and investment diversification also remain supportive of the rating position.

The same rating action extends to a broad list of W. R. Berkley Insurance Group members, including Acadia Insurance Company, Admiral Insurance Company, Berkley Insurance Company, Nautilus Insurance Company and W. R. Berkley Europe AG, among others. Several long-term issue ratings on W. R. Berkley Corporation’s senior unsecured notes and subordinated debentures are also upgraded, alongside indicative ratings under the company’s shelf registration and preferred securities issued by W. R. Berkley Capital Trust III.

Operating trends and sector implications

The group continues to post net premium growth across most core business lines in the first quarter of 2026, with a GAAP return on equity of 22.1% and GAAP return on revenue of 16.5%. AM Best says those results reflect agile underwriting, pricing discipline and effective risk management, helping limit volatility in financial performance and support overall capitalization.

For Berkley Life and Health, the agency cites improved operating performance over the last five years, driven by steady organic premium revenue growth, consistent underwriting income and strong profitability. The company maintains strongest risk-adjusted capitalization, favorable liquidity ratios and positive cash flow at year-end 2025, while holding a conservative investment portfolio centered on fixed-income securities and cash or short-term investments.

Berkley Life and Health grows net premiums written at a 14.1% compound annual rate over the last five years, helped by new and renewal sales in medical stop-loss and group captive products. AM Best says the unit remains a leader in the group captive market, though it continues to operate in a highly competitive medical stop-loss segment dominated by larger national carriers, with support from parent W. R. Berkley remaining an important credit strength.

Our earlier report on KBRA’s preliminary ratings for the RRE 31 Loan Management DAC transaction outlined a new euro-denominated cash flow CLO targeting a €400 million portfolio of leveraged loans diversified across 143 corporate obligors. We noted that the deal, managed by Redding Ridge Asset Management (UK) LLP, incorporates key structural protections such as credit enhancement and coverage tests, alongside a 4.7-year reinvestment period.

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